Vanishing Spirit
by iamnotlordvoldemort
Summary: When Harry faces Voldemort in the Graveyard his expelliarmus charm misses causing Voldemort's Avada Kedevra hits him. Events from the Chamber of Secrets are effecting the future in ways not even Dumbledore would have predicted.
1. Prologue

**I don't own Harry Potter**

**Prologue**

Dumbledore sat in his office, feeling every bit of his hundred and fourteen years of age. When Harry had placed the diary on his desk all of his fears had been confirmed. It had taken all of his skill to maintain a passive face as he started to realize what the diary was.

No mere charmed book could have possessed a person. That quickly narrowed the possibilities. What had perhaps been more frightening still was that, according to Harry, some sort of projection had left the diary. A projection with the power to perform a spell? No, he thought, this was no mere magical imprint Voldemort had left behind, this was something far darker.

Sighing at the thought of the long night ahead, he pulled one of the darker books he kept from the shelf. If anything could shed light on what Tom had done it would be here. Flipping to the section on Horcruxes he began to read "_By trapping a piece of their soul in an object, the caster is bound to earth as long as that fragment remains….. There have been some wizards who have attempted to connect a horcrux with a magical imprint. In theory an object, such as a magical portrait, would be enhanced and able to truly interact with the world."_

Tom what have you done?

He wondered absently what would have happened if the diary had succeeded in resurrecting itself through Ginny's soul. The horcrux inside would almost certainly have been consumed in the process. That was probably not the purpose it had been created for. Only a fool would design a horcrux to consume itself. He was many things, but Tom was not a fool.

Maybe a sixteen year old version of Tom would have come to life. How would today's Voldemort have taken that? He chuckled at the thought. No the diary could not have been designed to be a resurrection tool. Not when their where fare simpler dark rituals that would be able to bring him back. He must have created more than just the diary. The diary was clearly a weapon, foolishly flung by Lucius into the hands of a young girl. Besides it was out of character for Voldemort to trust anyone with anything, let alone with the key to his immortality.

And so he had come to the crux of the matter. He had seen Voldemort at the end of last year, confirming with his own eyes the subsisting spirit. While the proof that the dark lord was still bound to the world worried him, tonight he focused on a different issue. Harry James Potter.

The nature of Harry's rescue proved to be the heart of his dilemma. It was quite possible that, because of him saving Ginny's life, a soul bond could form between them in the future.

Soul bonds often form when a person risks their life for the person they are destined to be with. While uncommon, they are not unheard of. Each bond varied in strength, with some couples even claiming to have been able to sense each other's thoughts.

Soul bonds were mostly found in romance novels with complex plots and cookie cutter characters. In real life they were only a magical manifestation of a connection that had already formed between two people. Life changing events are the heat that welds the souls together.

All in all a soul bond would be something Dumbledore would celebrate if it were between any other two people. The problem weighing on his mind was how this would affect Harry in the times to come. The soul bond would not develop for many years, and would only happen if the two grew closer. Unfortunately that could mean Harry would have to deal with it at the same time as a possible return of Voldemort.

Harry's cursed scar; almost certainly a fragment of Voldemort's soul- a memento of his encounter one Halloween, almost 12 years ago. What would this soul bond add to the mix?

With no other choice, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, extinguishing the lone candle with a flick of his wrist, and allowed his mind to rest. Even for a wizard as powerful as him, sometimes the best thing to be done was simply to wait.


	2. Chapter 1

**I don't own Harry Potter. The H/G part of the story starts in earnest in Ch.8, but it will not make sense unless you read the entire story. Thanks , Enjoy!**

Together Cedric and Harry reached for the cup, preparing for an unorthodox Hogwarts victory. Suddenly they both felt a tug from their navels and were pulled through the air spinning off to an unknown location.

With an unceremonious thud, both landed on the grass.

"The cup was a portkey!" Harry heard Cedric mutter.

"Wands out" Harry replied looking through the dark gloom.

They were standing in a grave yard surrounded by looming monuments which blocked their view. A giant human size cauldron sat beside them with steam billowing off.

They both spun around as they heard a man approach from behind.

"Kill the spare" they heard from a bundle in his arms.

A jet of green light flew from the short man's arms hitting Cedric straight in the chest.

"No! Cedric!" Harry yelled clutching his scar.

Looking into the man's eyes he saw it was wormtail staring back.

"Incarcerous" yelled wormtail, sending Harry flying into a grave stone. His body was tied to the grave, but his left arm was left free. He felt his wand fall slack from his grip and fear gripped him as he saw wormtail drop the baby like thing into the cauldron.

All Harry could think was "I hope it drowns"

Then wormtail began to speak.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son." With a wave of his wand stream of dust burst from Harry's feet and flew into the cauldron giving of sparks.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master." With these words wormtail raised a silver knife and brought it down on is left wrist cutting his hand of into the cauldron. Howling with pain he turned toward Harry.

"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe." Cutting into Harry's free arm he gathered his blood on the knife before flicking it into the cauldron

Immediately the potion burst into flames and slowly a figure bathed in steam rose from the magical fire.

Lord Voldemort had risen again.

His bald head turned as he examined his new body, stretching out his long fingers and searching with his red slits of eyes. He paid no attention to the moaning Wormtail.

"Robe me."

Wormtail bustled forward awkwardly cradling his left stump, and clumsily pulled a robe around the man standing before him. He then handed him a wand, whimpered and backed away.

His bald head turned as he examined his new body, stretching out his long fingers and searching with his red slits of eyes. He paid no attention to the moaning Wormtail.

Raising his wand up, his slammed Wormtail into a head stone, causing him to lay there crumpled up and crying. Seeing Harry, he let out a high, cold, mirthless laugh.

Wormtail's robes were no soaked through with blood which shimmered in the moonlight.

"My Lord…" he chocked, "My Lord… you promised… you did promise…"

"Wormtail your arm"

"Thank, you master, thank you" he whimpered holding out his stump.

"Your other arm" Said Voldemort who grabbed his arm and yanked up the sleeve to reveal a red tattoo. A single long finger reached out and pressed the center of the mark causing Wormtail to grimace in pain. As Voldemort lifted his finger up Harry was able to make out the what it was- the same skull with a snake protruding from its- exactly as it had appeared at the Quiditch World Cup: The Dark Mark. Voldemort examined it carefully, slowly tracing it with a long yellow finger nail.

"It is back," he whispered, "they will all have noticed it... and now, we shall see…. Now we shall know…"

A cruel look of satisfaction on his face, Voldemort straightened up, threw back his head, and stared around at the dark graveyard.

"How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it?" he murmured, his head back as he looked into the sky. "And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?

He began to pace in a circle around the clearing the graveyard were moments before he had emerged from the cauldron. A flick of his wand and the cauldron was reduced to dust leaving him standing in the center of the circle.

After about a moment of silence he turned toward Harry bringing his red eyes up to meet Harry's, a twisted smile on his snake like face.

"You stand, Harry Potter, upon the remains of my late father," he hissed softly. "A muggle and a fool… like your dear mother. But they had their uses, did they not? Your mother died to defend you as a child… I killed my father, and see how useful he has proved himself, in death…"

Voldemort laughed again. And began to pace again, looking around him at the grave stones as he walked. As he walked Harry noticed a large snake circling a perimeter-the same snake from his dream- every so often it's tongue testing the air.

"You see that house upon the hillside, Potter? My father lived there. My mother, a witch who lived here in this village, fell in love with him. But he abandoned her when she told him what she was... he didn't like magic, my father…"

He continued to pace, his eyes hovering on each grave stone.

"Listen to me reliving family history…" he said quietly, "why I am growing quite sentimental after my disembodiment… But look, Harry! My _true_ family returns…"

The air was suddenly filled with the swishing of cloaks. Between graves, behind a yew tree, in every shadowy space, wizards were Apperating. All of them were hooded and masked. And one by one they moved forward… slowly, cautiously, as though they could hardly believe their eyes. Voldemort stood impassive, in silence, waiting for them.

One by one they crawled on their knees toward him, each of them kissing the hem of his robes in turn before reforming their silent circle. It soon became clear however that they were leaving gaps in the circle, as if waiting for more to arrive. Voldemort, however did not seem to expect more. He slowly surveyed the circle resting his eyes on each Death Eater, sending a shiver through the circle.

"Welcome, Death Eaters," said Voldemort quietly. "Thirteen years…. Thirteen years since we last met. Yet you answer my call as though it were yesterday…. We are still united under the Dark Mark, then! _Or are we?"_

He put back his terrible face and sniffed, his slit like nostrils widening.

"I smell guilt," he said. "There is a stench of guilt upon the air. I see you all, whole and healthy, with you powers intact and I ask myself… why did this band of wizards never come to the aid of their master, to whom they swore eternal loyalty?"

No one moved except Wormtail who continued to whimper and rock back and forth on the ground.

"And I answer myself, that they must have believed me broken, they must have thought I was gone…

"Then I ask myself, how could they believe me dead? They, who knew that I had walked the path toward immortality. They, who had seen the scope of my power! And I answer myself, perhaps they believed a stil greater power could exist…. Perhaps that champion of commoners, of Mudbloods and Muggles, Albus Dumbledore?"

"I confess myself disappointed."

"Master!" A Death Eater shrieked, "Master, forgive me! Forgive us all!"

Voldemort began to laugh. He raised his wand.

"_Crucio!"_

The Death Eater fell on the ground withering and shrieking.

Voldemort raised his wand ending the spell.

"You ask for forgiveness? I do not forgive, I do not forget. Thirteen long years… I want thirteen years of repayment before I forgive you. Wormtail, here, has already paid some of his debt, have you not, Wormtail?"

"You returned to me out of fear, not loyalty, yet you helped me return to my body," Voldemort said coolly. "Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers…"

Voldemort raised is wand again and whirled it through the air. A streak of what looked like molten silver hung shining in the wand's wake. Immediately, it twisted into a gleaming replica of a human hand which soared onto Wormtails outstretched arm. He flexed the hand in disbelief.

"My Lord," he whispered. "Master… it is beautiful…thank you….thank you…"

He scrambled forward on his knees and kissed the hem of Vodemort's robes, before quickly retreating to an empty spot in the circle.

Voldemort continued around the circle personally addressing each of the Death Eaters in turn, questioning them on their activities during the last thirteen years. Reaching the last gap in the circle he looked he turned and said

"And here we have six missing Death Eaters….three dead in my service. One, too cowardly to return… he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever… he will be killed, of course…. And one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service."

"He is responsible for our guest tonight, Gentleman, let me introduce Harry Potter." He said, a grin curling across his lipless mouth.

"Master, we crave to know…. We beg you to tell us…. How you have achieved this… this miracle… how you managed to return to us…"

"Ah, what a story it is, Lucius," said Voldemort. "And it begins-and ends-with my young friend here."

He walked over so that he was standing next to Harry, all eyes in the circle were on them, the snake continued to circle.

"You know, of course, that they have called this boy my downfall?" His red eyes upon Harry, whose scar began to burn so fiercely that he almost screamed in agony.

"I miscalculated my friends, I admit. My curse was deflected by his foolish mother's sacrifice, and it rebounded upon myself. Aaah… pain beyond pain, my friends; nothing could have prepared me for it. I was ripped from my body, I was less than a spirit, but still I was alive. What I was even I do not know… I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality. You know my goal- to conquer death. It seemed one of my experiments had worked for I had not been killed, though the curse should have. Harry Potter it would have it, is not the only one to have survived the Killing curse. By a twist of fate we both survived that curse that Halloween night. I waited in vain for years for one of my followers to search me out, until, four years ago, a foolish man wandered upon my spirit in the forest I had made my home. It was the chance I had dreamed of. He was a teacher a Dumbledore's school. He was easy to bend to my will… he brought me back to this country and after a while I took possession of his body in order to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. But I was thwarted…thwarted once again, by Harry Potter…"

Silence. Nothing was stirring, not even a hint of a breeze.

"I was left as weak as ever, forced to return to my hiding spot. I will not pretend I did not fear that I might never regain my powers…. I have given up hope, now, that any of my Death Eaters cared what had become of me…And then a not even a year ago a servant returned to me. Wormtail here, who faked his own death to escape justice, was driven out of hiding and decided to return to me. He sought me in the country I was hiding gleaning rumors of a shade from rats. Wormtail has a curious affinity with rats, do you not, Wormtail? Finally some luck favored Lord Voldemort, for as he searched for me, he met one Bertha Jorkins, from the Ministry of Magic. Displaying cunning I would not have expected from him, he persuaded Bertha to accompany him on a nighttime stroll. He over power her... brought her to me and Bertha Jorkins who could have ruined all, became a veritable mine of information.

"She told me of the Triwizard Tournament that would be played at Hogwarts this year, and she told me of a faithful Death Eater who would be only too willing to help me if I could only contact him. After she served he purpose I disposed of her as I could not possess her fragile mind."

Voldemort smiled his terrible smile, his red eyes blank and pitiless.

"Wormtail's body, of course, was ill adapted for possession, as all assumed him dead, and would attract far too much attention if noticed. However, poor wizard though he is, Wormtail was able to follow the instructions I gave him which would return me to a rudimentary weak body of my own. A body to wait in while I awaited the essential ingredients for true rebirth. Using a powerful piece of Dark Magic and three key ingredients, I was able to regain my body. Well one of them I already had at hand, was it not Wormtail? Flesh given by a servant…"

"My father's bone, naturally, meant that we would have to come here, where he was buried. But the blood of a foe… Wormtail would have had me use any wizard, would you not, Wormtail? Any wizard that hated me, but I knew whose blood I must use if I wished to rise again more powerful that before. I wanted Harry Potter's blood."

Looking into Harry's eyes, he continued.

"For many months I have worked to bring you here, Harry. And here you are, the boy all believed had been my downfall.

He raised his wand.

"_Crucio!"_

It was pain beyond anything Harry had ever experience, his bones seemed to be burning from the inside out. He felt like his head was sure to split in two as his scar burned like never before. He wanted it to end… to black out… to die.

"Untie him, Wormtail, and give him back his wand."

Wormtail approached Harry who had scrambled to his feet to support the wait has Wormtail swiped through the rope with his silver hand, and removed the gag in Harry's mouth.

Pushing his wand into his hand, Wormtail thrust Harry into the center of the circle.

"After tonight no one will ever doubt my powers again," hissed Voldemort.

"You have been taught how to duel, Harry Potter?"

At these words Harry walked back through all the spells he had practiced for the third task, the dueling practice with Ron and Hermione. He was surrounded by Death Eaters, the odds it seemed where thirty to one. He knew he was facing the same curse he had faced all those years ago-this time his mother would not be here to die for him.

"First we bow to each other Harry," said Voldemort bending his back slowly but keeping his head upraised and eyes alert.

"Come, Dumbledore would want you to show good manners."

The Death Eaters were laughing at the show Voldemort was putting on. Gritting his teeth harry resolved not to give them any satisfaction.

"I said, bow," Voldemort said forcing Harry's back to bend against his will as though a huge hand were pushing it down, the Death Eaters laughing louder than ever.

"Very good," he said softly

"And now we duel"

Voldemort raised his wand before Harry could even think of a spell. Once again he fell to the ground screaming in agony as the Cruciatus Curse to hold again. This time Voldemort held it far longer circling around has Harry rolled on the ground.

One of the Death Eaters rolled Harry back to the center of the circle as Voldemort broke the spell.

"A little break."

"That hurt diddn't it? You are going to die Harry, just like you parents." Said Voldemort, his eyes flashing with excitement. "I am going to watch the light leave your eyes. You don't want me to do that again, do you Harry?

Harry stood up, resolved to once again defy Voldemort the satisfaction of an answer.

"Anwser me! _Imperio_!"

The familiar effects of the Imperious curse flooded his mind, extinguishing all his thoughts from a moment before. _Just say no….Say no...NO!_

I will not, thought a stronger voice in his head, I won't, I won't…

"I WON'T!"

The words came out as a yell, echoing through the graveyard. The Death Eaters who had moments before been laughing fell silent.

"You won't, I will teach you before you-

"_Expelliarmus!"_

While Voldemort had begun to speak Harry had already intoned a spell. A surprised Voldemort was forced to hastily erect a shield to block the spell. Taking advantage of this Harry rolled behind one of the dark gravestones.

"We're not playing Hide and go seek Harry." Voldemorts voice echoed.

Harry answered by standing up with his wand in his hand. He knew he had no hope in this fight. If he was going to die, he was going to go, like his parents, looking death in the eye.

Voldemort and Harry raised there wands in unison, as though marionettes, simultaneously shouting, _"Expelliarmus!", "Avada Kadavra!"_

The red jet from Harry's wand flew high narrowly missing Voldemort's head, but the jet of sickly green light that left Voldemort's wand seemed to be flying true. In the milliseconds before contact all Harry could think was, he was going to die, just as Cedric died, at least he would be able to see his parent.

WHAM!

The green light struck Harry throwing him back ten feet and lifting him about eight feet into the air. Shock registered on the face of the Death Eaters, this was not how the normal Avada Kedavra Curse was supposed to work.

A single beam of green light continued from Voldemorts wand into Harry's chest. Harry was suspended in the air by an unseen force as he screamed in agony. His entire body was giving of blinding amounts of green light, lit like the filament of a massive lightbulb. He felt as if his entire body was disintegrating.

Voldemort was kneeling in shock struggling to break his wand free of the beam of light that was sucking his magic. What was happening to Harry seemed familiar to him, the only thing like it was the night his body had disintegrated from the killing curse. It was almost like Harry had made a Horcrux. But that was impossible he thought.

With a powerful yank of his wand, he finally pulled free of the connection. Wiping his brow, Voldemort looked up. Harry Potter continued to glow still glowing with a green light. He was no longer screaming now and seemed unconscious except for his continual twitching.

"HE'S MINE!" Voldemort yelled to the panicked Death Eaters. "Do nothing in less I command you."

Suddenly Harry's eyes popped open and he stopped shaking. Looking from Cedric to the cup he dove towards Cedric's body, brandishing his wand to summon the cup.

Roaring in anger Voldemort sent a jet of golden fire at Harrys figure hitting him dead on as he flew. Satisfaction turned to surprise as he watched the fire go through Harry leaving him unscathed. Screaming in anger Voldemort fired curses haphazardly at Harry, all of which seemed to fly right through him.

The last thing Harry heard as he felt the tug of the portkey was Voldemort cursing at the Death Eaters in fury.


	3. Chapter 2

**I don't own Harry Potter**

THUD

Harry, the cup, and Cedric, landed in front of the stands. Immediately the entire crowd stood up cheering and clapping. Hogwarts students were throwing their hats and people were collecting bets from one another. To all in the stands it seemed a Hogwarts victory and for about 10 seconds the champions lay forgotten in the excitement.

For Harry the world seemed to be in flames. His breath seemed shallow, and tears seemed to stream from his eyes blinding his vision. The flash of photography illuminated the shadows of the crowd above. 'Is this hell'? He thought. Had he died along with Cedric? Slowly his adrenaline over- run brain processed what had happened.

"No! He's back," he screamed, rolling on the ground. The cup left motionless next to Cedric's body.

Suddenly a girl screamed out, and then…

"Out of my way, that's my son," the voice of Amos Diggory carried across the field.

"He's dead! My son is dead….dead," he said, his voice filled with hysteria as he finally reached Cedric's body.

The cheering had stopped now, and the crowd seemed to have started screaming instead. Each person, it would seem, felt that they had the obligation of personally screaming at the sight of Harry, and Cedric. Through the crowd the grave faces of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students watched the Hogwarts tragedy unwind. Most of the Hufflepuff were openly crying now, yet no one, not even Draco Malfoy, was feeling cold enough to mock them for it.

Dumbledore, had moved quickly, from the very moment that the cup had appeared. He had seen immediately that Cedric was not moving, nevertheless it took him some time to push through the crowded stands from the judge's table. His steps fell into a quick jog as he emerged onto the field, allowing his cloak to billow free in a very Snape like fashion. He arrived next to Harry with a frazzled look, his blue eyes blazing and his glasses and beard askew.

Harry did not seem to have noticed Dumbledore. In fact, Harry was still screaming to himself. The pain of the Avada Kedavra had not yet faded, let alone the terror of Voldemort's return, or the shock of his own survival.

Peering into Harry's green eyes, Dumbledore whispered "Harry!"

Harry stopped rolling and reached for his fallen glasses. That's funny, he thought staring at the intact frames, after all this they are still intact after all this. He continued to stare at his glasses for a few seconds; his tortured brain finding solace in a distraction from the present pain of reality.

"Harry!" Said Dumbledore again, louder.

Harry put on the glasses and allowed Dumbledore's crooked nose to swim into view. Suddenly his mind cleared as he looked into Dumbledore's eyes. He needed to tell him about Voldemort!

"Professor! He's back!" he said quickly. "Voldemort is back, and he killed Cedric! Wormtail was there, and a…..…a giant Cauldren! He killed-

Harry was cut of mid-sentence by the arrival of Mr. Diggory. He was pointing to his lifeless son with his left hand, gesturing wildly, and pointing his wand at Dumbldore with his right.

"My son is DEAD!" He screamed at Dumbledore the crowd forgotten. "What has happened, how could you let this happen!"

Dumbledore was forced to move away from Harry and address the crazed man leaving Harry alone on the ground. Feeling that there where millions, instead of hundreds of people watching him, Harry slowly stood up.

The teachers had barricaded the students in the stands. He thought he could make out the troubled faces of Hermione and the Weasleys….

FLASH

A bright light exploded in his face, blinding him. For a second he thought he was under attack again. 'What spelled did that?' He quickly asked himself. His mind soon realized that it did not matter, as the world swam back into view. He was too weak to fight back.

"Harry, what happened to you! What happened to that boy…. Cedric over there. Can you give me an interview on how he died?"

The excited look of one Rita Skeeter came into view. Complete with her green quill and Bozo the photographer. Great, Harry thought sarcastically. Looks like Rita Skeeter made it past Dumbledore. How could she be so heartless and excited with all that was happening. He struggled to stay standing, and meet her eyes. No matter what he said this would not end well, and he did not have the strength to fight her.

Just then a strong arm pushed Rita out of the way, ignoring her indignation. Let's get you out of here said the gruff voice of Mad Eye Moody. He quickly led Harry past Dumbledore and Mr. Diggory and out the gate of the Quidditch stadium. Harry allowed his mind to wander as they walked up to the castle, his legs falling into rhythm with clunk of Moody's wooden one. He looked up at the star filled sky attempting to clear his mind of the image of Cedric being hit by that abhorrent green light.

Moody pointed his wand at the great oak doors of the castle and with a flick caused them to bang open noisily, causing an eerie echo in the empty hallway. Leading Harry through a secret passage way, the quickly arrived at Moody's office.

Opening the door he said "In here, you'll be safe from reporter hags."

He motioned for Harry to take a seat, before turning and bolting the door. After a moment of surveying Harry with his magical eye, he sat down across from him, and stretched out his wooden leg.

"So, what happened when you touched the cup," he said leaning forward and gazing into Harry's eyes with his disconcerting magical eye, and a staid face.

"The cup was portkey," Harry whispered not quite meeting Moody's eye. It was too painful, almost as if saying it made it all true. "I told Cedric to take it, it's all my fault. It told him we should take it together."

Finally Harry looked up from his feet and met Moody's eyes.

"He's back, Voldemort returned tonight. He's the reason Cedric is dead."

"What about the Death Eaters, did he welcome the back?" Asked Moody intently.

"They came after he returned, when he pressed the Dark Mark." Said Harry with a somber face. He just wanted to rest now, there would be time to process this in the morning his mind whispered sleepily to itself.

"Did he accept them back into his ranks unpunished! Or did he did he kill some of them and give them a grave in the graveyard?" Pressed Moody, his face filled with emotion.

"Hang on; I didn't mention a grave yard Professor."

"Marvelous creatures, Dragons!" Moody said in a fake sweet voice. "You think that oaf would have told you about them if I hadn't show him first. You think Diggory would have known to put egg underwater if I hadn't told him first!" He said with a crazed look getting loader. "You think that simpleton, Longbottom would have thought of gillyweed if I had not given a book leading him to it!"

He raised his wand looking back at Harry.

"The Dark Lord has risen again! And I will be rewarded by my wildest dreams. We have a lot in common Harry, the Dark Lord and I. Both had the pleasure of killing or own fathers, and both embarrassed by their failings. I will kill you, and the dark lord will recognize me as the greatest of his servants."

Harry looked into his eyes and shouted "The greatest servant maybe, but a servant nonetheless. If Voldemort failed to kill what makes you think you can?" He shouted, his body filled with a new fire. For the second time in the night stared death in the face.

A flick of Moody's wand and Harry felt himself be disarmed and held in the full body bind.

"PUNCTOMUS" Moody shouted point his wand at Harry's head. A jet of black light left his wand flying straight at Harry's head. The stabbing curse connected with Harry's head just as the door was thrown of its hinges into Moody, revealing Dumbledore blazing with power.

Right before their eyes, Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall, watched the curse, which the all recognized, soar through Harry's head. What shocked everyone in the room, including Harry was it did no damage, and impacted into the wall behind him leaving a huge gauge in the stone. A perfectly healthy looking Harry Potter sat in the eyes of all, and the wake of the curse.


	4. Chapter 3

**I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this story, however the idea that will be introduced in this chapter, I believe to be completely original.**

Snape reacted first, chanting in Latin as he waved his wand intricately causing a smoky numbers to fly around him. Dumbledore watched Snape test Harry with a passive look in his eyes, while McGonagall rushed passed and began to bind Moody's prone form with a series of chains and other transfigured bindings.

Harry fearfully looked up at Snape. What was he doing? He wondered. The curse most have missed him, he had not felt a thing. This hopeful thinking was quickly dismissed by Dumbledore's worried look.

"Professor?" He asked.

Dumbledore did not turn his eyes from the numbers, completely ignoring Harry's words.

"Try Omberus Corpusisi" Whispered Dumbledore to Snape.

Snape nodded his head slowly, banishing the numbers. Suddenly he slashed his wand downwards, sending an orange light flying at Harry. The light flew straight into his head causing his head to glow orange briefly, before it quickly flew back out of his head and into Snape's outstretched wand.

The tip of Snape's wand began to smoke. Harry watched in silent shock as a smoke figure of himself formed from the swirling cloud. All eyes turned to watch the figure; Harry and McGonagall questioningly, and Dumbledore and Snape intently stared at the figure.

The smoke figure stood tall, expanding to reach Harry's real size. Suddenly the figure was hit in the chest with a ball of green smoke that had come flying out of the stone wall. The smoke Harry fell backward slowly with an expressionless face. About halfway to the ground a ball of smoke flew out of the smoke Harry's chest. The smoke Harry collided with the stone floor, dispersing away. Then, the shocking part occurred. The remaining smoke that had split away reformed into another smoke Harry before all the smoke disappeared with a hiss.

Harry looked away from where the figure had, trying to catch Dumbledore's eyes. The Headmaster's eyes had lost all their normal twinkle and had an almost greyish tinge to them, far from their normal vibrant look. His face was contorted in thought and his muttering under his breath was causing his mustache to twitch in a crazed way. Albus Dumbledore had lost his cool.

Turning to look at Snape, Dumbledore said.

"Severus, the Veritaserum? Do you have it?"

"What about Potter?" He said, ignoring Harry and staring into Dumbledore's eyes.

"He can wait, Severus"

A look of understanding seemed to pass between Snape and Dumbledore, the meaning of which was lost on Harry and McGonagall.

Snape approached Moody, taking out the same bottle he had threatened Harry with from inside his black robes. He pried open Moody's mouth, then dropped three precious drops into his mouth.

"Professor? How could Moody have been the one to put my name in the cup? I thought he was your friend?" Asked Harry, recovering from the strange spell that Snape had cast.

"That is not the real Moody, Harry. To answer your question, Harry, you have never met the real Moody. I should have realized much sooner and prevented this from happening; unfortunately this imposter played the part well."

Snape reached forward and grabbed the imposter's hip flask. Opening the lid he quickly took a sniff. He turned to Harry held the open flask up to his face.

"Here Potter, seeing how you managed to cheat your way out of exams, how about a final potion grade. Care to share what potion this is?" He said sneering.

"Severus, I hardly think this is the time to torture the boy- said McGonagall indignantly.

"Polyjuice Potion, sir." Harry answered with an even tone. Bet Snape didn't expect that to backfire on him like it did. That was one smell he would never forget after brewing it for a month.

"Quite right, Harry," answered Dumbledore. "Clever really, the real Moody only drinks from a hip flask." He said to himself. "Well we may be lucky. In all the excitement our imposter may have forgotten to take his hourly douse of potion. Enervate!"

A flash of light left Dumbledore's wand, causing the Imposter's eyes to pop open. He stared around the room in shock. Snape suddenly slide in front of him and whispered "Where is the real Moody?"

"He is in the 7th compartment of my trunk in the corner. I needed him to make the polyjuice potion," came the monotone potion-driven response.

Before another question could be asked, the imposters face started to morph. With a pop, Moody's magical eye fell onto the floor, spinning madly. The sound was quickly followed a by a thud as a wooden leg fell to the floor. Taking his eyes off the blue eye Harry saw a blond haired familiar face swim into view. Harry struggled to remember where it was from, when he realized. "The Pensieve!"

"Yes, Harry, this is Barty Crouch Jr." Wispered Dumbledore. "The question that I have, is how is he alive?"

"My mother," came the monotone response. "She convinced my father help save me. It was arranged for her to talk my place in Azkaban, and use Polyjuice potion. She was sick, and knew she would not last long. She died after a few weeks, and was buried on the island by the dementors. I was taken home, and put under the imperius curse by my father. I was to be accompanied by a family elf at all times and always wear and invisibility cloak." His expressionless face changed to the incensed face of a madman and his voice lost its expressionless quality. "Then my master came for me, after the world cup. He knew about me because of Bertha Jorkins, who had learned my father's secret. My father had put memory charms on her, but they did not stop the Dark Lord! He came for me, and cursed my father, and I left with him to take the position of Defense against the dark arts post as Mad Eye Moody. I arranged for Potter to get to the cup, and to the Dark Lord! I will be honored beyond all others!"

"We have heard enough for now," said Dumbledore. "Severus, please take Harry up to my office, Minerva, stay and guard Crouch for the time being. I am sure Cornelius will want to speak with him at some point."

Snape strode out of the room after Dumbledore, without turning to take a glance at Harry. Harry quickly jog out of the room to try to keep in sight of Snape's billowing robes.

"Professor!" He shouted down the empty corridor. "Professor!" He said again as he strode alongside Snape. "What was that spell you did? What did it mean?"

Harry received no response from the man, not even a scathing remark. In fact, there was even less color in Snape's skin than normal. His normal poker face had disappeared and his eyes were darting around in an almost anxious manner. He was gripping his wand with enough force to cause his knuckles to turn white and was waving it ominously at every sound.

Harry heard a slight scuffle from behind a suit of armor.

"FLAMILLIUS EXIMA" Roared Snape, slashing his wand toward the sound. A jet of purple fire hit the suit of armor causing it to glow a dull red from the heat. A burning Mrs. Norris jumped through the air landing the middle of the hallway with an indignant meow.

Harry kept his mouth shot with difficulty, and for the first time that night he almost laughed as he thought of the look on Filch's face when he saw his cat.

Snape side stepped the cat with disdain, and continued silently down the hall toward the stone gargoyle.

"Chocolate Dragon Dung." He whispered derisively.

Seeing Harry's raised eyebrow, he explained. "The Headmaster enjoys choosing passwords that annoy the staff."

Snape opened the door to Dumbledore's office, and nodded curtly in reply to Harry's thank you. Closing the door to Dumbledore's office he turned to Harry.

"Well, sit down Potter!" He said angrily. "Are you waiting for me to pull up a chair?"

It was probably a good thing that Harry was as tired as he was, otherwise he would have had a much harder time ignoring Snape. Following Snape's advice, Harry sat down in front of Dumbledore's desk in a posh armchair. He felt better as he let the chair engulf him as he slouched back. It was strange, he felt quite numb, and weightless. He looked up at Fawkes only to hear the bird trill mournfully at him. The bird flew across the room, dropping a feather, next to him, before soaring back to his perch.

Snape had been pacing behind Harry up till then, glowering at the portraits as they pretended to sleep.

Finally, the door to the office opened revealing Dumbledore, and a large black dog.

Sirius! Thought Harry as the dog came in. This thought was quickly silenced by the presence of Snape. What was Dumbledore thinking?

The dog trotted slowly after Dumbledore into the room.

"Was this really the time to get a lap dog Headmaster?" Said Snape with contempt.

"Severus, it is time for you to reconcile yourself with an old enemy." Said Dumbledore staring over his half-moon spectacles like he was correcting a naughty child.

Sirius bounded up behind Dumbledore, changing back to human form.

"Hello Snivillus," he said coldly.

"Him!" Spat Snape, eloquently.

Both man had drawn their wands had looked about ready to duel. Harry feeling very weak, could only hope Dumbledore would intervene.

BANG!

A fire cracker erupted from Dumbledore's wand, turning all eyes to him.

"I would have expected better from both of you. We are all on the same side here and you both need to put your past differences behind you. If you wish to fight than by all means do so after we have dealt with the many problems that plague our world. Alas, I thought time would have healed these old wounds. Take a seat both of you."

Sirius strode past Snape quickly to secure the seat next to Harry. He looked better than the last time Harry had seen him in Hogsmeade. In fact, he looked like he might be almost at a healthy weight again. He was still wearing rags and looked like he could use a very good shower but all together he was getting better.

"Harry," said Dumbledore as he sat down. "I most ask you to tell use exactly what happened in the Graveyard tonight."

"Professor!" said Sirius standing up. "Don't you think it can wait till morning?"

"Sirius, if I thought it would be any better to wait, I would. Facing what has happened is the first step in coming to terms with it. The path ahead will be incredibly difficult for Harry. He turned his eyes from Sirius to Harry. "Harry, I need you to tell me exactly what happened, then you can rest. I will even have Professor Snape give you a dreamless sleep potion."

"The cup was portkey," said Harry, having a hard time completely meeting Dumbledore's eyes. "I convinced Cedric that we should share the victory for Hogwarts. We got the graveyard and Wormtail was there. He killed Cedric and-

"The bastard!" Exclaimed Sirius.

"Control yourself Sirius!" Whispered Dumbledore.

Harry proceeded to explain the rebirth ceremony, and did his best to remember details of Voldemort's words to the Death Eaters. Every so often Dumbledore would press him for a detail. Eventually, he reached his duel with Voldemort. For the first time, he thought he saw Snape look mildly impressed. In fact Harry could have sworn he heard Snape whisper to himself "He fought the Dark Lord at 14?"

Finally he reached the point where he was hit by the Avada Kedevra. Sirius gasped in shock, but Dumbledore and Snape seemed as if they had been waiting for this. Finally Harry finished the story with how he had grabbed the cup.

Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his gold chair. He looked as if he was bearing the weight of the world at the moment. His shoulder slouched and his face grim.

"Harry, I am sure that you want to know what happened in Professor Moody's office. That curse should have killed you today, just as the curse Voldemort used should have killed you. I hope you know that, excuse my modesty, even I don't have all the answers. What I do know is that Crouch's curse went through you like you were made of smoke. Harry, do you remember your first year? When you met Voldemort? Do you remember that after Quirell died Voldemort's spirit left his body. What you saw, was a piece of Voldemort's soul. Harry, there is no easy way to say this, but the spell used by Professor Snape was an advanced diagnostic spell. What it has shown is your body is dead."

"What!" Exploded Sirius for the second time that night.

Harry's head had started to spin as Sirius yelled at Dumbledore. Was he dead? Was that what the headmaster was saying? He didn't feel like a ghost, he hadn't floated through any walls. He wasn't cold and silvery either.

"Harry," the voice of Albus Dumbledore shook him back to reality. It seemed Snape had silenced Sirius who was continuing to silently yell in such an angry way he had not even bothered to curse Snape yet. "I said your body is dead, but your soul is most certainly not. Voldemort took your blood tonight, and in his foolishness he has tied you to life in similar manner to how he tied himself to life. Your soul has not passed on and it is fully intact." Dumbledore paused for effect glancing at an open mouthed Sirius, who decided to sit down again.

"What this means is, we have no idea what the future brings. There has never to my knowledge been a person who has had their soul survive their body's death without the use of dark magic. For the time being, I think it would be better if we don't make this public knowledge. I don't know if you can or will need sleep, but looking at your state it would be worth a try. Before we take you down to the hospital wing we need to try something though. Can you pick this quill?"

Harry remained silent. He felt so tired right then that nothing Dumbledore said seemed to really matter. He had said something about being dead or alive or something but it wouldn't matter until tomorrow. He methodically reached for the quill, only to have it pass through his hands. Annoyance masked the shock racing through his mind, causing him to reach again this time with his magic pulsing and bolstering his efforts. This time the quill followed his hand into the air for a second, before falling back down through it. Harry looked up a Dumbledore for a second, and the world went dark.

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Dumbledore looked at the floating body of Harry Potter. Well that answered one important question. The boy still had the use of magic. He had been subconsciously using it to interact with the solid world. It seemed he had fallen asleep. With a wave of Dumbledore's wand, Harry started floating to the hospital wing invisible to all but the three men following him.

**HARRY IS STILL ALIVE! DON'T WORRY! HE ISN'T EXACTLY A GHOST**

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated if you have chance.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I am going to try to not make a habit of putting in Author's note but as far as I can tell there is not an easy way to reply to reviews. Just to clarify, Harry is not a ghost in the way Nearly Headless Nick is, what he is will become clearer in this next chapter. Also if you see any big grammar or plot mistakes, feel free to leave a review. I appreciate feedback.**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

The world swam back into view as Harry swayed back into consciousness. He heard the sound of loud voices yelling in the background. What was going on he thought? Madame Pomfrey's loud indignant voice was heard against a smooth patronizing, politic one. The Hospital wing! Of course that's where he was! He sighed, closing his eyes stretching his ears to listen. The other voice was Fudge but who was the other loud voice. He opened his eyes and saw a head of red hair. Mrs. Weasley, he should have known. He blinked struggling to keep the world in focus.

"Really Minister, this is a hospital not a zoo!"

"Now I understand your upset but I simply must know how the Diggory boy was killed." Fudge replied.

"Get OUT! GET OUT! LET THE BOY SLEEP!"

"Now, I really must insist that-

"How dare you. How dare you bring that veil creature onto the grounds of Hogwarts." The Scottish voice of Minerva McGonagall rang through the room.

Harry opened his eyes just in time to see McGonagall advance on Fudge. Fudge, backing up, fell into a nightstand causing his bowler hat to drop and be crushed by his falling body. He stood, putting his crumpled hat back on with as much dignity has he could muster, before turning with a huff to the door of the Hospital wing.

"Dumbledore, I must insist that you do a better job of managing your staff! Why one of your Professors just outright attacked me!"

"Albus, HE brought his _dementor_ in when he went to see Crouch, the thing just took one look and swooped in. Now there is no evidence left!" Shouted McGonagall.

"Dumbledore, it is not like the stories your staff have said could be right any way. It is clear what happened. A man impersonated a member of your staff and killed a boy." Fudge said patronizingly. "After all, you can't really believe _you-know-who _is back!"

"I assure your Cornelius, I am certain Voldemort has returned."

"Just because Potter said so, doesn't mean anything. Haven't you read about his instability? The boy could have killed Diggory himself!"

"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE HARRY OF THAT!" bellowed Molly Weasely.

Harry's vision went red and he sat up looking for his wand. He would have been yelling at Fudge himself if Mrs. Weasely hadn't beaten him to it.

"My dear women, you must understand-

Harry started to rise and move toward Fudge, only to see Dumbledore lead him out of the hospital wing.

Harry sat back down on his bed, losing hold of his magic and letting his wand fall to the ground. Perhaps he should take a rest after all.

O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O

"Harry!"

Hermione came running into the hospital wing followed closely by Ron and Ginny.

"I was so worried."

Harry opened his eyes just in time to see Hermione diving forward to give him a hug.

"Oh no," Harry said weakly as Hermione fell right through him, hitting the bed.

"Bloody Hell! What just happened, Hermione!" Cried Ron in shock.

"That must be an illusion." Said Ginny.

"No," said Harry floating through Hermione awkwardly.

Harry sat down on an adjacent Hospital bed and turned to face the astonished group.

"We have a lot to talk about." Said Harry.

He proceeded to tell them what had happened after he had entered the maze all the way through Crouch's attempted murder. It was a testament to how worried Hermione was that she held back comments for as long as she did, unfortantly it was too good to last.

"But that is not how an Avada Kedevra is supposed to work!" Said Hermione.

"I know, I am getting to that. Not even Dumbledore has figured out why that happened yet." Harry explained.

Finally Harry got to the part were Dumbledore revealed that his body had died. There was silence for a moment before Ron spoke up.

"Well mate, does that mean your a ghost?"

"I believe I would be better equipped to answer that question Mr. Weasley." Said Dumbledore who had silently walked up as Harry was talking.

"Headmaster!" said Hermione. "Here let me get up."

"No need Miss. Granger," he said waving his wand to produce a large cushy armchair. "At 116 I would rather sit in a chair than on a hospital bed as it is. Please don't take me as old though…."

"Anyway, Mr. Weasely, I am ready to answer your question. It may be a bit shocking. If its o.k. with you Harry I will continue. What do you know of the soul?"

"The soul is the immaterial part of a being, which in many belief systems is held to live on after death." Answered Hermione quickly.

"Hermione, that was a rhetorical question." Said Ron.

"True, Miss. Granger, but let me offer you a bit more information. The soul is what makes a person alive, also a person is not dead unless there soul has passed on. Many have wondered how Voldemort could have survived the night he tried to kill Harry all those years ago. Here is the answer. His soul did not die. I myself saw what remained of his destroyed body. All that was left was wand and a pile of robes. Now, the killing curse is designed to target to soul. It, like a dementors kiss, rips the soul from the body thus killing the person. It is no wonder that the muggles find nothing wrong with a killing curse victim's body. Physically they are not at all damaged. Now it takes an enormous amount of hate to cast the killing curse. The hate is what pulls the soul out of the person and sends it onward. If the soul is beyond the reach of the curse, protected and unable to be ripped out of life, than the hate goes into the environment and normally is released in flames. For example a missed killing curse often starts a fire. Now before I continue, when Harry was a baby, it is my guess he was not hit by the killing curse, but that it was deflected by his mother's love before it touched him. Instead it hit Voldemort, and because his soul was beyond reach his hateful curse simply destroyed his body." Dumbledore paused for effect looking into their eyes. Seeing the look in their eyes he said in a voice with no room for question.

"Why Voldemort's soul is beyond reach, is a story for another day."

"I believe that last night Harry was hit by the killing curse for the first time, this time the curse destroyed his body. Harry is existing now as a soul free of a body. Fortunately he has not performed the same Dark Magic that Voldemort performed and therefore should be able to perform magic. Now for the reason that Harry survived the killing curse. In his naivety, Voldemort took Harry's blood to revive himself. Harry's mothers protection now flows in Voldemort's veins. Voldemort himself is now renewing it every day as long as his body lives. In fact, as long as Voldemort lives Harry cannot be killed."

Silence followed this last statement. There were grim looks on all the faces when suddenly Ron's stomach grumbled loudly.

"s'cuse me." He mumbled.

"It's quite alright Mr. Weasely, in fact if you Miss. Granger, and Miss Weasley can go to breakfast now I would like to talk to Harry alone for a little while.

Dumbledore waited quietly as the other reluctantly walked out of the room.

He stood up, vanishing his armchair. Without looking at Harry he walked toward to window.

"Harry, too many burdens have been laid on you in your short life. Somewhere, out their Voldemort is waiting." He said, gesturing out over the expanse of Scottish countryside. "He will not forget you. The months ahead will be harsh. Minister Fudge has chosen to discount Voldemort's return."

"What!" Exploded Harry. "I thought you talked to him last night."

"Harry, as much as I appreciate your loyalty, I am not all powerful, and my word is not the law. Minister Fudge is entitled to making his own opinion, and viewing the world his own way. I only wish he was not in charge of our world.

I won't lie to you Harry. They are going to crucify us for the world to see. You remember Rita Skeeter? That is what we will be facing this year every day. When I told everyone yesterday at breakfast-

"What do you mean, how long have I been asleep?"

"Two days, it is now the last day of term, I have more to tell you. You can expect private lessons next year. For now we need to decide if you are going back to the Dursley's. If at all possible you will be safest there. Even with your blood, Voldemort can't enter the property."

"Um Professor? What about the whole my body is dead part?"

"Ah yes, that is what I kept you back for. We need to see if you can interact with people without having them… er.. pass through you. Harry you remember the feather last night? Let's try again shall we?"

Harry walked over to the cup Dumbledore was pointing at. As he reached to pick it up he felt his magic gather in his palm. He lifted the cup easily into the air like he was corporal again.

"Good," sighed Dumbledore. "That answers one important question. Now can you take a drink of water"

Harry reached forward and lifted the glass the magic having gathered in his hand. He brought it up to his magically defined lips. Everything was working, till he took a sip. The water passed through he essence like cold metal. Even though he had magic enforcing his body the liquid had no were to go and seeped through him to ground. It was strange, his body being opaque and looking normal, when liquid poured out of his feet.

"Ahh, alas, as I expected. Luckily I don't expect you will need to eat."

"How come my clothes aren't wet?"

"That would be because you don't have any on. Instead your mind has clothed you in want you think you are wearing. I suspect you will be able to change your appearance at will as well as your clothes. To what extent I can only guess…"

"Professor, am I going to be like this forever?"

"Harry, no one has ever been in the situation you are in now. What may happen is any body's guess. What I can tell you is: it would be better to stay in this state forever than to use the ritual that Lord Voldemort used to create a body. Like unicorn's blood it has rewarded him with a half-life. Now, as to why you should stay at the Dursley's. In this state you will be more vulnerable to some things like dementors. I need you to stay there for at least 4 weeks. When I feel the wards are recharged enough I will come and collect you myself. "

"Harry," he said, peering over his glasses into Harry's eyes, "Voldemort killed Cedric. If you destroy yourself in grief, Voldemort will have won and Cedric will have died in vain. Voldemort believes love to be our greatest weakness. He believes that the compassion we share for each other, stops us from doing everything necessary to win. Only by overcoming grief can you honor those who have died. Whenever Voldemort pushes you to despair remember those who have fought before you. You fight for them. Here is your wand Harry," he said, "I am sorry but I must go to a staff meeting."

Harry watched, taciturn, as the Professor left the room. How was he supposed to feel? Maybe Dumbledore was right. Cedric would not want him to dwell on his death, not when he, Harry had so many problems of his own right now. At the same time that would be no excuse to forget Cedric.

He sighed and looked around his least favorite room in the castle. Even sighing was strange now. The displacement of air was not real, an illusion of his sense created by his magic. Well at any rate it keeps me sane he thought.

Deciding he needed to test out what it meant to be non-corporal, Harry slowly hovered into the air. It was no different than raising a figure. No specific or nameable thought was tied to the action, simply instinctual control. He glided, gracelessly across the room, like baby taking its first steps.

After a few laps around the hospital wing, he started interacting with different items. It seemed that lifting a bed was almost the same as lifting a feather. Really it was not the lifting that was difficult, but the fine movements. He still needed to practice a lot.

The opening of the door announced the arrival of Madame Pompfrey. Rather than be forced to lie down by the matron, Harry simply flew out the open window. The strange feeling of unsupported flight would have been mind boggling had Harry not had previous quidditch experience.

He soared over the Hogwarts grounds, and for the first time since he became a champion, he started to relax. He dove down, skimming the grass, before diving down into the lake and into the mermaid village. Finally he flew straight up high above the castle, the wind buffeting him as he looked down.

Tiny people were leaving the great hall now, and he felt self-conscious like he wanted to disappear. He instinctually became invisible as he dove down to sit under tree overlooking the lake. No matter what Cedric had died for, it was still his fault. If he hadn't insisted he go, than Cedric would still be alive. He was so lost in his thoughts he did not realize he had become visible again.

"Harry." A red haired figure approached. In fact, Harry thought he could see her even though his back was turned.

"Hi Ginny," he said quietly, not turning his head.

"Listen, Harry, I am sorry that all this has happened to you." She said as she sat down beside him. "I remember asking myself after the Chamber of Secrets why me, I took me a while to realize it was not my fault it had happened to me."

"It was my fault Cedric died, if I hadn't-

"Harry we both know it was Voldemort's fault, you didn't cast the curse. Anyway, Ron and Hermione were looking for you because it is almost time to leave and you aren't packed. I saw you out here and thought I'd tell you. Just remember not to keep how you feel bottled in, Ron, Hermione, myself, Sirius, we all care about you." With that she stood up, and left him alone with his thoughts.

**Reviews are greatly appreciated! If you spot any stupid mistakes, please point them out so I can make a change.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

The Hogwarts express glided down the tracks, leaving the large castle behind. Onboard rumors circulated about "He-who-must-not-be-named" and "The-Boy-Who-Lived". On a normal day, there would have been little question over the words of the great Albus Dumbledore, but today there was doubt among the Hogwarts students. By now everyone had heard about the falling out between the Headmaster and the Minister of Magic, who should they believe?

Harry sat in one of the seats aboard the train with Hermione and the Weasley siblings. Fred and George had decided that in light of recent events, everyone should sit together. Ginny of course was not one to be left out and had entered the compartment as well, filling the last of the six seats. They were all playing a game of exploding snap that Fred had christened "Exploding SNAPE!" All of this humor was lost on Harry who was brooding again; however this time he was not thinking of Voldemort or Cedric, but himself.

Even sitting in the bench chair of the train reminded him of what had happened to him. He was not really sitting on the seat, but causing the representation of his spirit to hover there. When he was occupied it was instinctual, but in a moving train, the vibration of the tracks and occasional bumps forced him to focus on appearing to sit on the seat.

He was not ready to tell anyone else in the car yet. In fact, he had not planned on telling Ron and Hermione when he had. How the hell was he going to get through this upcoming summer? The Dursleys were bound to notice. Could he even mow the lawn like this?

He sighed and looked out the window, thankful that the others were to engross in the game to notice his melancholy state- except Hermione, of course. She would glance at him every minute or two from over her book with pity in her eyes. If only she knew how much worse that made him feel, but he couldn't exactly say that, could he? At least she cared.

Platform nine and three quarters was far more frantic than normal. People were desperate to find their children, both for the reassurance that they were okay, but also to find out the juicy details of Cedric's death for themselves.

Harry passed through the barrier, and entered the muggle world. His moment was cut short by a man with a cart walking right through him. Thankfully he twisted out of instinct fast enough that it looked to everyone around like he had dodged the man.

He straightened up and came face to face with the nasty purple complexion of Uncle Vernon's countenance. His face was curled in a sneer and filled with disdain.

"Came back, did you?" he muttered to himself.

Harry bit back a reply, not meeting his uncle's eyes.

Uncle Vernon, turned and without so much as a backward glance started walking down the station forcing Harry to wave hurriedly to his friends in order to not be left behind.

The drive back to Surrey was silent, except for an occasional curse from Uncle Vernon at a slow driver. Harry welcomed the silence. He had never enjoyed talking to his Uncle and he did not feel like starting now.

When they finally arrived at Number four Privet Drive, Harry headed straight upstairs with all of his things, not evening glancing at his Aunt and Cousin watching television. He got to his room and sighed. This was going to be a long summer.

!#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*()

Four weeks. It had been four brutal weeks and Harry and yet to hear from Dumbledore. He had had little trouble hiding his condition from the Dursley's. It was not like they cared if he ate or drank. He stayed out of their way, and did the chores assigned to him. Overall he was proud of how un-confrontational he had been.

He scripted a short note to Ron and Hermione. Apparently they were both off at the Burrow having a great time while he spent his summer in Dudley's second bedroom. Uncle Vernon still called it that so that Dudley didn't get upset-and also to remind Harry that he had no place in the house.

Hedwig chirped affectionately as Harry opened the window. Why didn't his magic set off the ministry sensors? He would have to ask Hermione, or Dumbledore maybe. He could picture Ron's expression if he asked him. That would be a laugh.

While he was hardly happy, his condition had offered him some benefits. He could float invisible downstairs when he wanted to watch the telly for one thing. So far there had been no mysterious disappearances on the muggle networks, and the daily profit had yet to put HARRY POTTER WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG! across the top of the page. He sighed, and floated invisibly out the window. One of the challenges with going through walls was that you could not take anything with you. He had left his wand on his bed, but he figured he would be safe, invisible and bodiless. He floated down the street passed Mrs. Figg's house to the lone park on the corner. It felt great to not have they the neighbors staring at "the Potter boy" that they had all been warned about. He kicked a garbage can out of anger prompted by the thought, only to have his leg pass right through it.

That was one of the downsides. He hovered on a swing set, watching Dudley and his gang walk by, their voices carrying.

"Bugger! I left my wallet by that swing we broke." Said Dudley. "I'll see you all later."

"Bye big D!" they chorused back to him, like the loyal followers that they were.

Harry chose that moment to appear. He had no wish for Dudley to walk through him. One always felt a little like the thing that one passed through, and that fat would be like drinking sour milk; the taste would linger for hours.

"Hi Big D," yelled Harry as Dudley approached, knowing that he really shouldn't be antagonizing his cousin, but unable to resist.

"Don't call me that!"

"What do you want me to call you, ickle diddydum dum diddly dickle diddle dumpkin?" replied Harry, confident that Aunt Petunia's little name for Dudley would make him lose his cool.

"Shut up!" yelled Dudley.

"What did you say?" said Harry, attempting to be menacing.

"What are you doing. I feel cold. Stop, I'll tell Dad STOP!" Dudley said hysterically.

Harry looked around, trying to figure out what had scared Dudley. He didn't feel cold, but then he didn't feel anything, that was part of not having a body. Then he saw them, two cloaked figures gliding toward them. dementors. It was at that moment he realized he did not have a wand.

"Dudley! Start running home." He shouted as the air dropped down below freezing causing the street lamps to shatter from the sudden change of heat. Now the only light left was the light of from people's windows.

Harry made to follow Dudley. He needed to get back to his wand. That was when he felt the dementors for the first time. It was the familiar feeling amplified a hundred fold. He felt it tearing at his mind, threatening to rip him into unconsciousness. His body was being pulled now toward the dementors, even as he reached out with his magic to grab for support. It was like sliding toward the edge of a cliff, with nothing to stop you descent. His mind perversely was thinking of the dementors kiss and realizing that with his exposed soul, he was just being sucked in.

It was at that moment that Dudley Dursley did the first truly brave thing in his life. He started running toward Harry. Now Dudley could not see the dementors, but he could see Harry sliding away from him as if pulled by an imaginary force. He also felt the coldness coming from that direction. While Dudley was not well known for his mental prowess, even he could see that something was not quite right.

As he approached, Harry was able to finally grab on to something tangible for support. Dudley's animate body was something his soul magic could latch onto, unlike the inanimate play climber around him. Harry grabbed Dudley's outstretched hand, and re-iterated that need to run back to privet drive.

As they rounded the corner, Harry realized that there was no way they would reach number four in time. The dementors were gaining on them. Just then a white speck flew out his window. Hedwig the letter to Ron and Hermione still on her leg.

She dove toward him, dropping his wand into his hand. In one fluid motion, Harry turned to face the dementors shouting "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A silver stag shot out of his was sending the dementors on a full scale retreat to Azkaban. Harry floated into the house and passed out….

He woke up about an hour later to Uncle Vernon's shouting. He was floating about 1 foot below the ceiling and Uncle Vernon was standing write below him shouting.

"I won't have it! You almost get Dudley killed because of your freakishness! While you have been out cold and... FLOATING! here, my house has been bombarded with owls. I WON'T HAVE IT. I wrote back to your ministry and told them to go ahead and send someone to TAKE. YOU. AWAY!"

Harry blinked rapidly before landing ungracefully on the floor. Ministry representative, what?

"They will be expelling you for this! Oh yes they will!" said Uncle Vernon as though Christmas had come early. "How dare you bedazzle my Dudley."

"Shut UP!" Harry shouted scanning the ground frantically.

"Looking for this, boy?" his Uncle said, waving Harry's wand gleefully.

SNAP

"You won't be needing it."

Harry could only stare in shock. Uncle Vernon had just destroyed his wand. That was not good. It was like his Uncle had just stabbed him, he felt empty and hollow without his wand in his hand.

The door flew open in the entrance way. The ministry representative had arrived.

"Potter." Drawled the voice of Lucius Malfoy.

"You." Harry said slowly.

"Filthy muggles," muttered Lucius. "SUBSITO ETIAM."

Harry was locked in place with only his eyes and mouth free.

"Good Potter, you realized why I am here. BOMBARDA!" He said, sending the Dursleys into the kitchen in a heap.

He turned to face Harry, his cold eyes looking into Harry's.

"The Dark Lord has wanted you dead for 14 years. No one survives the Dark Lord forever. If it is any consolation Potter, you lasted longer than your Mudblood mother. And now it is time to face death. I am sure you are wondering why my curse affected you. You see Harry, the curse I used is normally employed to manage ghosts and poltergeists. The Dark Lord came up with a new use for it."

"You sent the dementors!"

"No, it seems there are others out there who also want to kill you, convenient isn't it? Now Harry, the Dark Lord realized that if curses passed through you, we might need to try something a little more ethereal. "

"If you planning on killing me than do it. You death eaters seem to have a thing for bragging!" Shouted Harry.

"Now, that wouldn't be as much fun. EFFIGACO MALORVANT."

Harry felt as if he was being ripped to shreds. His form was becoming more and more translucent instead of his normal opaque appearance.

"See, Harry, this is much more fun. Just think, in a few moments the Dark Lord will be here to do this himself. That will be even more-"

BANG

Lucius Malfoy fell forward revealing Aunt Petunia holding a frying pan. The break in magical concentration freed Harry. Aunt Petunia? He hadn't expected to be rescued by her.

He relief was short lived however, as he was quickly thrown out of the house by an exorcism curse from Malfoy. It seemed the frying pan had not been quite so effective after all.

Harry landed outside the house. He felt as if he was melting. The world was swimming and he could hardly think. Next to him was Hedwig, still carrying his note to Ron and Hermione. In a sudden moment of instinct he felt himself dive through her eyes. His mind was embraced by the instinctual mind of the owl. He felt his concentration start to evaporate. All of his thoughts started to melt. He was an owl. Sorry, a _post-_owl. He was flying, soaring over the subdivision, but that didn't matter. No, what matter was that he needed to take a letter to Ron and Hermione. Somewhere in the pit of his stomach he felt a pull toward down town London. He could not tell you where they were in London, he just slowly flapped his wings- wait, were they his wings?

Lucius Malfoy opened the door just in time to see an owl disappear into the distance. The exorcism curse was not the smartest thing he had ever done. The damned thing had actually helped the boy escape. He quickly took off down one of the streets. The boy could not have gone far. Especially in the condition he was in.

!#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*()

In an office in a tall tower, Albus Dumbledore noticed that wards of Privet drive fail. Why would they- Ahh, he thought. Harry does not have any blood if he doesn't have body. How could he have been so stupid? He immediately slipped around the Hogwarts ward as only the headmaster could do, apperating directly to number 4 Privet drive. He found it distinctly lacking of the person he came for. He could only hope tomorrow brought some good news.

**Reviews are greatly appreciated. If you found the chapter, or story to be confusing please let me know so I can incorporate some answers into the next chapter. Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! I would love to know what you think of the plot so far. I don't own Harry Potter.**

A single white owl glided silently over a dreary neighborhood in London, riding updrafts and deftly moving to avoid down drafts. The sun had just begun to show its face a 4:47 AM and the wind was calm. If a snowy owl flying in down town London wasn't strange enough on its own, the thoughts that this owl entertained further alienated it from its peers.

Inside the limit of Hedwig's mind, Harry Potter's thoughts flowed. They had a distinctive owl like characteristic, as a side effect of the limited and small owl mind in which his spirit was residing. In fact, Hedwig's mind was so unrefined and animalistic that it could only support one complete human thought at a time. Right now a single goal resonated through the owl, refuge.

Subconsciously, Harry was controlling his familiar and using the magical owl's instincts. Magical owls are instinctually attracted to a person that they are requested to take a message to, and Hedwig was now flying toward a person that Harry felt safe with.

Unbeknownst to Harry, Sirius Black was living under the Fidelius Charm. It should have been impossible for him to find it as a human, even hitching a ride on a post owl. However Sirius Black was not the only person Harry valued at the location; the house contained a vast majority of all the people Harry felt he could trust in the world. This attraction was enough to break the Fidelius Charm and allowing Harry to find Number 12 Grimmauld Place. In fairness, a Fidelius Charm had never been tested in this way before and it would have been quite easy to prevent this method from breaking the enchantment, however the point was that Harry _was_ able to enter the property.

The tired owl flew toward the front door just as Severus Snape apparated unto the front steps of Grimmauld Place. The owl swerved past the tired potions professor much to his irritation. He had been searching for Potter all night- just like the rest of the order of the phoenix. The stupid boy had cast a patroness and had some sort of run in with Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy was claiming the boy had attacked him when he went to confiscate his wand, however it seemed more likely to Snape that Malfoy was there to kill Potter.

Dumbledore had collected the broken pieces of Harry's wand himself, and interviewed the Dursleys for almost an hour. He had looked through other important things in Harry's room to see if there was any information, like a note or something, but he hadn't found anything, all though the owl was gone-

_The Owl!_ The Potter boy had a white owl! Just like the one that had just rudely flown by him! Snape raced down the hallway, snatching the owl out of the air as he rounded the dusty corner that led to the basement. He would have something to show at the meeting, yes. That would make Black so very angry, he thought with a giddy smile.

Snape entered the kitchen to the sound of a dull roar. Everyone at the table was on their last nerves and all yelling at each other, yet none were as loud or as passionate as Sirius Black who was addressing Dumbledore.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SEND THE BOY TO THOSE THRICE DAMNED RELITIVES! BUT DID YOU LISTEN? JUST LIKE WHAT HAPPENED WITH LILY AND JAMES!" Sirius yelled with his wand pointing and Dumbledore.

Dumbledore had made no move to defend himself and was silent as Sirius battered him with criticism. In fact, it almost looked like he agreed with him.

"It looks like Severus has something to share with us." Dumbledore stated to the group, causing the group to quiet down.

"I found the boy's owl," He informed the group.

"Well, did it have a note or not?" Demanded Sirius irritably.

"Not that I can see," admitted Snape grudgingly. He was looking for appreciation for his discovery.

"Well what the hell does that do for us then?" Sirius snapped.

"Sirius! Calm down ," whispered Molly Weasley.

"Don't tell me to calm down when my godson is MISSING!" Sirius shouted turning to face Molly. "I didn't spend 10 years in Azkaban to lose him!"

"Both of you need to calm down," Arthur Weasley said evenly. "Neither of you are helping Harry by arguing."

"Your right Arthur," acknowledge Sirius grudgingly.

While this had been going one Dumbledore had been examining Hedwig with a number of spells. When everyone stopped watching Sirius, they turned to see Dumbledore pointing his wand at Hedwig ominously.

"Remus, seal the room. Make sure to make it magically impenetrable. " whispered Dumbledore urgently.

Remus looked at Dumbledore questioningly but only received a small head shake from Dumbledore in return. Dumbledore never let his wand waver from the owl while Remus was sealing the door.

"Wands out," said Dumbledore forebodingly.

He waited, focusing in on the owl. His blue eyes focused in on the owl, as if trying to judge the birds character. He tilted his head to the side, like curious child.

"Erumpentes Ejicio," Dumbledore shouted, jabbing his wand wildly.

A jet of light flew from his wand, creating a nebula of silver haze surrounded Hedwig. It swirled around several times before turning red and disappearing into the owl. Then, with a rather large squelching noise, a much disheveled Harry Potter emerged from the owl and was thrown by the force of the spell across the room. He floated there for a second before slowly regaining conciseness.

"Harry," stated Sirius Black in shock.

"Euh," was the only reply he got. Harry was still recovering from the owl feelings. How had he even ended up in the owl to begin with? Everything after entering Hedwig was like a dream, fuzzy and not all there.

"Why did you need me to seal the door, Professor?" Remus asked.

"Once again, it's Albus, Remus. Honestly, I thought it had to be Voldemort in a non-corporal form. Not very many people can possess anything without killing their body.

"What are you talking about, where is Harry?" Exclaimed Mrs. Weasely.

Dumbledore sighed and turned to face the group. "Sirius, will you help me explain?"

Dumbledore let Sirius explain the situation to the rest of the order while he diagnosed Harry. The expressions that flew across the Order members face ranged widely, some, like Mad Eye, were impressed by the story of Harry and Voldemort's duel, yet most were simply horrified to hear the whole tale. Finally, Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Harry will be fine-

"How can he be fine when he doesn't have a body!"

"Molly," said Arthur.

"Don't 'Molly' me! What do you mean he is a 'non-corporal', you misleading jerk! He is dead, you mean he is a ghost. It is all because of that stupid! Misguided! BLOODY! TRI! WIZARD! TOURNAMENT!"

"Harry IS NOT DEAD!" Dumbledore shouted, blue eyes blazing and looking into each person's eyes.

It was kind of disappointing that Mrs. Weasely, in an effort to look out for Harry, had forgotten that Harry was right there and would have enjoyed being part of the conversation instead of listing to the adults. Actually, it was a testament to how fatigued he was that Harry failed to start asking every question he could think off about Voldemort.

"If Voldemort can regain a body, than so can Harry; however, I have yet to think of a way to achieve this. In the past, only dark wizards have ever managed to cheat death. This means we have no precedent for a ritual. It would be better for Harry to die, than use the method that Voldemort used. "

"The challenge," Dumbledore continued " is that Harry is not bound to this world in the same exact way that Voldemort is. While he has magic in this form unlike Voldemort did, his spirit form is much less robust."

"What does that mean?" Interjected Molly.

"It means that he cannot stay in this form forever. The magic Lucius used has damaged his ability to maintain his spirit like form. What it means is that he will not be able to stay this way without risking his spirit dissipating. I think it would be for the best if we let Harry get some rest from this ordeal."

"Are you okay Harry?" Asked Sirius. "You haven't said anything yet."

"I'm fine, just extremely tired."

"We will all be here in the morning Harry."

!#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*()

Dumbledore turned to face the tired collection of witches and wizards. His blue eyes were dim and weary, as were the faces of the men and women around him. It had been a late night.

"There is something we still need to discuss," he said heavily. "When I said Harry needs to regain a body, he needs to do so within a year from losing it. Even the magic Voldemort used to keep his spirit tethered would not have lasted for more than seven years and Harry is being held to this world by a much finer thread. "

He paused and looked out at their faces.

"For those who don't know, Harry Potter is not the only one to ever survive the killing curse. Lord Voldemort also survived his rebounding curse at the price of his body. Now, you might be wondering, how could Voldemort have lasted nearly 13 years without a body? The answer is possession. In a spirit form, it would have been extraordinarily easy for Voldemort to possess an animal, or a weak wild muggle- Yes I know that Voldemort does not seem to be the kind of person who would ever associate with a muggle, but I imagine he was quite desperate for a body."

"You see, he would have got weaker and weaker the longer he was without a body, until he started to fade away. There is not true immortatlity. Now, the problem that faces us is that Harry will fade away if within the year if he does not secure a body. He might fade even faster after what Lucius did to him tonight. We need to devote all our resources toward creating a method recreating a body for Harry. Severus, as an expert in both potions and rituals what do you have to-"

"What about the prophecy?" Burst out Kingsley. "Didn't you want us to guard it?"

"The prophecy itself will be unimportant if Harry is dead." Dumbledore said resigned. "However, we still need to protect it."

"Dumbledore, you realize how thin we will be spreading our forces?" Demanded Mad Eye.

"We have no choice. The prophecy must be protected.-"

"Wait." Said Sirius. "Why does the prophecy need to be protected from Voldemort? Why can't we just destroy it, Dumbledore?"

"Sirius, the problem is not the destruction of the prophecy, it is the action itself. We all know that I have lost much of my old popularity at the Ministry."

"Speaking of which, what are you planning to do about Harry's hearing with the ministry?" Asked Tonks.

"I will personally defend him of course. With the loss of my position of Chief Warlock, I belief I will able to do the most good as Harry's barrister." Replied Dumbledore.

"Lucius is not going to let Harry off on this one. He will claim Harry attacked him upon entry to his home, and that he resisted arrest. " Said Arthur.

"Ahh, I have a plan for that. If he had planned on an arrest, he should have brought Aurors or Hit Wizards. Also, Harry's wand was snapped prior to Lucius's arrival. Making the claim that Harry performed wandless magic would only make Harry look better and more powerful, and begs the argument of why he could not handle a single 14 year old wizard without a wand."

Tonks yawned loudly and leaned back in her seat.

"I believe Nymphadora is right, it is time for us all to get to bed." Dumbledore said standing up. "Lemon drop?"

The order dispersed, filing out of the kitchen. If anyone had been awake enough to notice they would have heard Tonks muttering about the "Lemon drop sucking old centenarian" who had dared call her "Nymphadora".

!#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*() !#$%^&*()

Harry opened his eyes into an unfamiliar room. He vaguely remembered Mrs. Weasely leading him up here last night. It was good to have seen Sirius again. He looked around the room. What a dark place. It seemed like whoever had lived her before had had some strange tastes in decorations. Everything was Slytherin colors. The silver shone from the Sunlight coming through the shades, reflecting silvery snake shaped shadows onto the walls. Was this what Slytherin dormitories were like? It would make sense based on how their common room was decorated.

Harry reviewed what had happened in his head. He had been just taking a normal walk- O.K. a not so normal "Float" down the street, when two dementors had attacked him and Dudley. Wait. That wasn't normal either? Why was nothing ever normal for him?

On one of the dusty walls a portrait of an irritable man sat. He looked vaguely familiar, as if Harry had seen the same portrait somewhere else.

"You're awake." Said the man in the portrait abrubtly.

"Huh," replied Harry eloquently.

"Children, always lacking manners, never thinking before they speak…..What has Dumbledore been teaching you!"

"Dumbledore? What do you mean? Who are you? Have I seen you before?" asked Harry bewildered.

"See! Exactly my point. Couldn't even be bothered to ask one question at a time. How very rude…. Well, let me 'teach' you some proper manners with an example. I will only answer one question at a time." Drawled the portrait.

"Who are you?" demanded Harry angrily.

"Why should I answer to a youngling such as you?" countered the portrait.

"Because you're are just a portrait, I could bash you to pieces."

At this the portrait actually snorted and the depicted man fell out of his chair laughing.

"You didn't think I would make a comment like that without thinking it through, did you? I wasn't in Slytherin for nothing! We both know you could do little more than blow wind at me. And now that you lost your wand…."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WAN'T!" Harry snapped, losing his temper.

"Ah, the lack of control…. Well I wouldn't tell you anything but the headmaster wanted me to check to see if you were awake-"

"Wait! The Headmaster," Harry interjected.

"Dumbledore, you interrupting fool. As I was saying, Dumbledore wanted me to check to make sure you were awake. To answer your question, I am Phineas Nigellus. I have seen you many times now in the Headmasters office. "

"What part of Hogwarts is thi-"

"WE ARE NOT AT HOGWARTS YOU SENSELESS BOY!" interupted the former Headmaster. "While I have a portrait at Hogwarts, I assure you a am a famous enough wizard to have more than one! We are at my former home, the abode of the Most Noble… Most Ancient….. House of Black." He said, pausing for effect between each word.

"Sirius's house?" asked Harry.

"Yes," said the portrait shortly. "Now if you excuse me, I have better things to do than spend time with school children."

Harry turned away from the portrait, glad it had left. The thing was a menace. Just as he turned, the door banged open revealing the Weasley twins.

"Harry, Mom just told us you were here. Not arguing with a painting I hope?" questioned Fred with a wink.

"Well, it's not like he would be the first, you and Fred argued with it your first day here," came the voice of Hermione Granger from the door way.

"Well we only argued for about ten seconds, before we sent a hex to its face." Replied George.

"Hi Harry," shouted Ron as he entered the room.

"Hi everyone," said Harry petulantly.

"We're sorry…." Said Hermione.

"We wanted to write mate-"

"But Dumbledore made us promise not to tell you anything!" added Fred.

"Not to tell me ANYTHING? Replied Harry slowly.

"Well told him you would want to know but…"

"WHO FOUGHT VOLDEMORT THREE TIMES! WHO SAVED YOUR LIVES FROM THE DEMENTORS!" said Harry pointing at Hermione and Ron. "WHO WATCHED HIM RETURN THIS YEAR. WHOSE NAME WAS PUT IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE. WHO WAS FORCED TO FIGHT A DRAGON! WHO KILLED A BASALISK! WHO LOST THEIR BODY TO VOLDEMORT! WHO WASN'T TOLD ANYTING," He said crescendoing.

"ME!" The lack of shock on the part of Fred and George, suggested that they might have been told about Harry's lack of a body.

"Yes Harry," came a new voice from the door way. "I did ask them not to tell you anything. We both know why. If you want to be treated like an adult, I expect you to think about the situation like one." Dumbledore said, rebuking Harry and pausing for effect.

"We seem to have invaded your bedroom," Dumbledore continued looking around. "But now is as good a time as ever for this conversation. Harry, if it is o.k. with you, I would have this talk with all your friends here," He turned and motioned to Ginny, who was hiding in the doorway, to come in. With a flourish of his wand he conjured six chairs in the room.

"Fine," said Harry shortly.

"I will ask you all to hold your questions, many of the things I am about to say will not make sense at first. Harry, there is a limit to how long you can stay in this form. If you don't regain your body within a year, you will fade away." Dumbledore stopped abruptly.

"What else aren't you telling me! What else have you decided I shouldn't know?"

"Harry, listen to me. Professor Snape is trying his best to develop a way to create a new body for you. "

"SNAPE!"

"HARRY, you need to listen. What occurred last night has damaged your hold on life. You only survived because you were quickly able to possess Hedwig."

"I 'possessed' Hedwig?"

"Yes Harry, but you did not take full control. You need to start practicing possessing animals, as when you are inside a body, your spirit is sheltered and does not deteriorate as fast. From now on you need to possess Hedwig while you sleep."

"What?"

"Harry, now is not the time to argue. Spend some time with your friends. Practice magic in your spirit form. When school starts you will need to be at your best. The last months have been hard. The newspaper has labeled us both insane. Hogwarts will be a challenge this year Harry. I will see you at your hearing."

"hearing?"

"Your hearing for underage magic. Sirius will be well equipped to answer any questions. For now I must go and attempt to get some sleep."

With those words, Dumbledore apparated out of the house, leaving a shell-shocked room.

"What do you think Dumbledore means by Harry deteriorating, I mean I never read about a person's soul breaking up.." Said Hermione scratching her head.

"What difference does it make, Hermione! All that matters is that Harry will DIE if he doesn't regain a body!" Shouted Ginny.

During the shouting match between Hermione and Ginny that followed, nobody noticed Harry float up to the highest room of the house, where he spent the next hour attempting to possess Buckbeak, happy to be by himself and alone to his brooding.

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/alert/favorited this story.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate the enthusiasm. I tried to answer any questions in the reviews, but if I missed one feel free to review again! Sorry, I think I misspelled Weasley Weasely- must have been the Draco Malfoy influence with the Weasel song. This is the longest Chapter yet so enjoy.**

Harry was on the roof of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. He looked out at the world through the eyes of the crow he was possessing. There was little point in flying, as he was not allowed to leave the property and the _"safety of the Fidelius Charm". _ To be honest, he was still brooding. It had been four days since he had arrived at Grimmauld place, and he had managed to avoid having a conversation with just about everyone. Anti-socialness was skill he had learned years ago while living with the Dursleys. He knew how to easily circumvent a conversation without insulting. He also knew how to say something without having anything of meaning being said. It was true that Mrs. Weasley was worried, Sirius was worried, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George- hell, the entire Order, was worried about him, but perversely he was avoiding them out of a sense of revenge. He had wanted their sympathy and support for four weeks this summer- and received nothing. He had wanted to be here, with his friends, but now that he was he was shunning them.

The sun was getting low in the sky; it was probably about 8 o'clock. Harry sighed. He needed to get back inside. It had been easy, not coming to meals. He had no need to. In fact, he had managed to isolate himself more at Grimmauld place than he ever had at the Durselys. That fact was only magnified by the fact that their where so many people at Grimmauld place.

On a brighter note, he had finally started to get the hang of possessing something. It required desire, like a spell, to have it work. He had to want to enter the creature. The challenge had been entering but still retaining a human outlook and brainpower. It had taken him several tries before he managed to possess Buckbeak for the first time. The more sophisticated the animal, the more interesting and difficult it was to possess. The rewards were much greater as well. Possessing something like a crow was meaningless, as the crow would not survive long. The closer the creature was to human, the longer it could support a human soul. In theory, a human body could support the soul for a full life time while a complicated vertebra like a dog, would last for a few years. A bird like the crow he was in now would be lucky to last a few hours.

All in all it was a miracle that Hedwig had not been adversely affected by the long flight they had taken. According to a book on the subject that Harry had found in the Black library, an animal close to a wizard or witch, such as a familiar, was much better suited to possession by the aforementioned witch or wizard.

That had been one of the few useful conversations that Harry had had, Sirius had quietly suggested that Harry look in the Library on the subject. All in all Sirius had let Harry deal with his depression. It was surprising as Sirius was not normally that wise when it came to emotional things, but Harry thought it was probably because he had dealt with despair in a way few could claim to have experienced. Other people such as Mrs. Weasley had tried to directly confront Harry, however Sirius had been patient, taking the opportunities he had for conversation and using them to quietly try point him toward solutions to some of his problems. He had not pressed Harry, but tried to let him deal with how he felt himself.

Harry exited the bird and flew through the roof and into his room. If he was honest with himself, he would have to admit he felt nervous. Dumbledore had sent him a note with information about the hearing for the next morning. It was hard to be as mad at the Headmaster as he had been before. Dumbledore had been spending a lot of time working on his defense. Also, in fairness, the headmaster had been up for around 40 hours searching for him prior to their last conversation. It was understandable he wanted to leave and get some rest.

What surprised him were his charges: use of underage magic in the presence of Muggles, resisting arrest, use of offensive magic against another wizard.

Harry's nervousness was a good thing, because it took Harry's mind off Voldemort's return and his self-pity. He decided to head downstairs were the others were enjoying a slice of Mrs. Weasley's treacle tart. That was one of the reasons he had not come to meals, he could empathize with Nearly Headless Nick. As he approached to room he heard Hermione talking loudly.

"I'm worried about Harry, I mean, I am sure the hearing is stressing him out."

He ignored the words and the smell of food and walked straight into the basement kitchen of Grimmauld place for the first time since he arrived.

"Harry!" Cried Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm so glad you decided to come down!" Said Hermione rapidly.

"Look, I'm sorry," said Harry pausing. "I have been avoiding you since I got here."

There was silence for a minute before Fred called out.

"Wait, you have? I didn't even realize! How could I have missed the George?"

"I do believe ickle Harry has finally seen the light and realized just how much of a prat he has been." Put in George.

"That's enough!" Shouted Mrs. Weasley, as if she was worried such comments would cause Harry to leave again.

"No its o.k., Fred and George are completely right." Stated Harry.

"That's our Job!" Said Fred.

"To kick some sense into you!" George added.

"Because we still owe you," they replied winking.

"Owe him for what," Mrs. Weasley said suspiciously.

Harry looked at the twins, hoping they had a way out of this. He did not want anyone to know he had given them his TriWizard winnings.

"He managed to prank us," Fred said coolly.

"And we still owe him for that." Finished George.

"Wow, Harry! I have been trying to do that for years." Ron said in awe.

"Maybe that is what is keeping your grades down," Said Mrs. Weasley, taking control of the conversation.

"Now Harry, Arthur will be taking you to work with him tomorrow for the hearing. Dumbledore doesn't think you can Floo travel, so you will need to wake up bright and early to get there the muggle way. Besides, it's probably best if you arrive through non-magical means for an underage magic hearing. It gives the right impression."

Harry stayed silent during Mrs. Weasley's lecture. He then spent the rest of the night talking socially, and was even coerced into a game of exploding SNAPE (the name had stuck).

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Harry woke up the next morning to a soft tap on the door from Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry? Are you awake? "

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," He replied sleepily.

"Alright, try to be downstairs in a few minutes, I am working on breakfast right now." Said Mrs. Weasley kindly.

"I guess she still hasn't realized that I can't eat," Harry muttered to himself.

It took him no time at all to get dressed. He just closed his eyes and thought about how he wanted to look. He opened them and looked in the mirror: his hair fell flat, and he was now wearing black robes similar to the Hogwarts uniform, satisfied, he started downstairs.

That was perhaps the best part of being like this, he was like a metamorphous like Tonks….. He smelled the breakfast. And that is why it wasn't worth it.

He entered the kitchen, to the smell of ham and eggs. Mr. Weasley was sitting with Tonks and Mrs. Weasley and Sirius.

"I still can't believe you got up so early, you're normally worse than the twins." Said Mrs. Weasley to Sirius.

"My Godson is normally not going to a hearing at the ministry."

"Harry," Tonks exclaimed.

"You actually were able to get your hair flat?" asked Sirius.

"Side effect of being in spirit form, I can control how I look."

"In that case, you need to wear green robes about this color." Said Tonks excitedly, turning her hair to roughly the same color as Harry's eyes.

Harry sighed and changed the color of his robes.

"Harry, you really shouldn't be wearing robes in the muggle world, I am sure you'll stand out."

"Mrs. Weasley, in down town London, I guarantee there will be many far more strangely dressed people on the subway.

While Mr. and Mrs. Weasley got into a discussion about muggle systems, Sirius beckoned Harry into a side room.

"Harry, you are going to be fine, Dumbledore will be defending you. He didn't get to be Chief Warlock without being a good barrister. All though the last time he defended a case was sixty years ago… But never mind that," he said hurriedly. "The point is, you acted completely within the law. Just tell them the truth about what happened, and don't let your temper get to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know that is presumptuous coming from me, Harry but it is essential that you don't lose your temper. Don't give Fudge any reason to expel you. Anyway, with some luck, Fudge won't even be there. Amelia Bones will be trying you in any case and she is very fair."

"Well Harry, we had best be going."

"Good luck Harry," said Sirius.

Harry followed Mr. Weasley out the door, and down the street. The soon arrived at the nearest subway stop, about a quarter mile away. Every few feet, Mr. Weasley would shout out in awe over the _"ingenuity of those muggles!"_

Harry did his best to explain, and helped Mr. Weasley safely through the Subway. It had been harder than he would have expected. Mr. Weasley had been ready to jump onto the tracks, having a very different notion of how to ride the train. It had not been until Harry told him that one rode i_nside_ the train, not on tracks, that people had stopped staring. It seemed Mr. Weasley thought that it was like a muggle version of the floo, you just jumped on the track and started moving… Or so he had claimed.

Finally, after several wrong turns and delays, they arrived in a shabby back alley.

"Well, this is it. Never used the visitor's entrance myself before."

Harry looked at typical London payphone booth skeptically. Was Mr. Weasley talking about that or the shabby theater behind it.

"This way," said Mr. Weasley pulling Harry into the telephone both. "Right," he muttered grabbing the phone. "62442,"

"Welcome to the ministry of Magic," a female voice said. "What is the purpose of today's visit?"

"A hearing for Mr. Harry Potter." Said Mr. Weasley hurriedly.

"Have a nice day." A badge fell out of the coin slot labeled, Hearing for Mr. Harry Potter, MoM.

The phone booth lurched and started to descend, Harry watched the street pass over his head as they continued down. He hadn't expected the magical ministry to locate itself underground.

Suddenly the booth broke through the ceiling of a huge atrium, lined with a fire places. In the center was a magical fountain with a House elf, Centaur, Wizard, Witch, and Goblin. Harry thought that no centaur had ever looked at a wizard with that kind of adoration before.

Mr. Weasley lead him down the atrium to a security desk by the elevators.

"A hearing for Mister Harry Potter." The man said, reading the badge.

"Hello Barry," said Mr. Weasley.

"Arthur. Does Mr. Potter have his wand?"

Harry felt his face heat with shame at those words.

"No, it is being held as evidence."

At least Mr. Weasley hadn't told the man it had been snapped. It was the worst of shames. For a wizard, not having a wand was a worse embarrassment, than a muggle not having clothes. It was the ultimate opprobrium. When a person was sentenced to Azkaban, the last thing the judge did was snap their wand to show they were not worthy to use magic. It was worse than having a scar that proclaimed him the boy who lived. That was embarrassing, but this was utter humiliation.

"This way."Mr. Weasley led Harry toward the golden lifts.

"Arthur! Arthur!" a voice cried.

"Perkins," he asked startled.

"The boy! His trial has been moved to Courtroom 10 for eight o'clock. I just got the owl in the office!"

"What! It's already 8:15! Harry we have got to hurry." He exclaimed, jumping into a lift. "Courtoom 10! This was supposed to be a hearing. That is the full Wizengamot hall."

The lift shuddered to a stop at the bottom floor in a dark corridor. Mr. Weasley led Harry down the hall at a fast jog, finally stopping at a heavily reinforced steel door.

"I can't come in, Harry. Good Luck! I'll be waiting for you. Remember the law is on your side."

Harry opened the door and walked in. It was the same room he had seen in Dumbledore's Pensieve. Around him, over a hundred witches and wizards sat looking down at him from their raised benches. On a slightly raised dais, sat Cornelius Fudge, a severe woman with a monocle, and a large woman who looked like an enormous fat toad. She was dressed all in pink, starkly contrasting the uniformed members of the body. She also wore a horrendous bow on her head, and had an expression when she saw Harry of a toad that had spotted an extremely juicy fly.

In the center of the room, surrounded by the benches arching above, sat a single massive chair. Around the chair a pair of chains slowly arched. Harry remembered seeing those same chains arch around some of the most notorious death eaters. This was not what was supposed to be happening. He was supposed to be in Madam Bone's office.

"TAKE A SEAT!" yelled Fudge imperiously.

Harry walked forward and sat gingerly on the iron chair. He felt the weight of all the eyes all the eyes in the room on him. He could only pray the chains would not wrap around him. As he lowered himself onto the edge of the chair he took a glance around the room. No eccentrically dressed wizard?

Just as he touched the chair, there was a screech as the chains wrapped around his legs and arms. Strangely, they were able to bind to his spirit as if he was physically there.

"Goblin chains, Mr. Potter." Said the Toad-like woman nastily. " After escaping Mr. Malfoy, we could hardly let you do the same thing again!"

Heads nodded in the crowd, witches and wizards turned to each other whispering.

This was not going well at all. He might not just be expelled, he might be sent to Azkaban. He knew enough about goblin made items to know that that was the reason the chains were able to bind him so well.

"State your name." Said Fudge.

"Harry James Potter." Harry said shakily.

"Did you or did you not cast a Patronus charm at 10:23 pm on the 12th of August?"

"Yes but-"

"In the full presence of a muggle?" continued Fudge.

"Yes but-"

"With full knowledge that you were breaking article 3 of the Statute of Secrecy?"

"Yes but I only cast it because of the dementor!" Said Harry quickly before Fudge could interrupt him.

"Dementor!" laughed Fudge. Interesting story you just made up. Will examine your lie in a second, Did you RESIST THE SEASURE OF YOUR WAND AND ARREST MADE BY AN AUTHERIZED MINISTRY OFFICIAL?"

"Yes but!"

"AND DID YOU NOT ATTACK SAID OFFICIAL AND ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE ARREST BY USING A MUGGLE WEAPON KNOWN AS A FRYINGPAN or an 'ANTI-WIZARD-ATTACK-WEAPON' RESULTING IN GREAT INJURY TO MR. MALFOY."

"It's a cooking pan not a weapon!" Harry shouted.

"You hear the lies this boy is spouting," said Fudge, trying to rile up the court. Many of the purebloods looked like they believed the part about the 'ANTI-WIZARD-ATTACK-WEAPON', probably because they had house-elves, and because Fudge was a good actor. It didn't hurt that he made it sound like a nuclear bomb.

"It is clear that this boy has broken a huge number of our laws. Not only that but he has pleaded guilty to all charges. All in favor of a 10 year sentence-"

"**CORNILIUS!"** A magically amplified voice roared through the room. Many of the warlocks cowered in the seats. Dumbledore stood, beard and hair flapping dangerously, dressed in robes of dark scarlet red. His blue eyes blazed with anger. The Wizengamot was directly reminded of why they had once all respected this man, or feared him. He was so angry, that a magic seemed to be rolling off him in waves. The feeling of anger was echoing in every mind not protected by Occlumency.

"How dare you." Said Dumbledore stepping into the room. He spoke quietly now that he had all the attention of the room.

"You would try a boy for underage magic as if he were a death eater? You would bind him with the same chains you bound the likes of Lestrange and Dolohov? You would treat him like you would treat the man who killed his parents? YOU WOULD SENTENCE A BOY TO AZKABAN WITHOUT EVEN GIVING HIM A CHANCE TELL HIS OWN VERSION OF THE EVENTS?" Dumbledore finished yelling loudly. "Has the Wizengamot fallen so far in the months since I left?" He said as though an afterthought, his eyes filled with disappointment as he scanned the group.

"Dumbledore-" Fudge attempted to say.

"NO! You have had your chance. I will present my complete defense before you interrupt me!" Dumbledore said, turning his face back to Fudge.

"You are talking to the Minister of Magic!" Said the 'Toad'.

"So I am, Madam Umbridge, however Cornelius, has wronged my client and broken the laws that govern this body. By the laws of this court, I could challenge his position as a magistrate in a duel between us."

The words fell across the court, silencing all of the body. Fudge looked visibly sick now, mostly out of anger, but partially out of fear. Few amongst the body had ever seen this side of Dumbledore. When he had led the Wizengamot, he had portrayed a grandfather like aura of omnipotence, as though he was always in control of both his emotions and his thoughts. He argued with cool, calm, infallible logic. Today he presented righteous anger.

"Never have I been more disappointed with society." Said Dumbledore, looking at each of the members like a teacher giving a detention. Harry could not help but think about what it would be like to have Dumbledore as a head of house. He would have hardly ever had a problem with what anyone did, but if you did do something really bad…

"No one is saying that Harry didn't perform magic, or that there wasn't a muggle. There were, however two dementors. What magic Harry performed was only save his and that of his cousins."

"You can't honestly expect us to believe that. Next you will be saying that Harry is innocent of the warning 4 years ago or of the time he blew up his aunt." Said Fudge, recovering from the shocking entrance Dumbledore had made.

"And while Harry is not on trial for either of those incidents today, I have house elf at Hogwarts that can confirm that he, not Harry, performed the magic 4 years ago. Now, I can bring Harry's cousin in as a witness for the Dementor attack if you don't want to drop the charges, however I will insist on Veritaserum."

Fudge did not reply, he simply glowered

Dumbledore turned toward the door and beckoned to a person, two wizards escorted Dudley and Petunia Dursely into the room.

"Weatherbee! Get them seats." said Fudge angrily. Percy stepped up from behind Fudge. Harry could not help but glare at him in hate for his betrayal. He had heard about what happened in the conversations he overheard at Grimmauld place.

"No need," said Dumbledore pleasantly, all hint of malice gone. With a wave of his wand, three plush armchairs appeared on the court room floor. Petunia made a chocking sound at the display of magic before wilting into one of the chairs. Dudley sat down roughly, not completely sure what to think, that is if he ever did.

"Now, Madam Bones, will you authorize the use of Veritaserum?" Dumbledore asked the monocle bearing lady.

"Of course," she said. "Weasley, make note in the court record." Harry watched as Percy scribbled hurriedly on the paper, smudging ink in a hurry to put down the record.

One of the aurors walked forward and poured two drops of the potion down Dudley's throat. Aunt Petunia looked ready to intervene, but a look from Dumbledore silenced her. Dudley on the other hand was being completely cooperative. Dumbledore must have pre-worked a talk with them.

"State your name." said Madam Bones, who had taken over for Fudge because he was still seething and mutter incoherently.

"Dudley Dursley." Answered Dudley in the monotone voice that Harry had heard from Barty Crouch Jr.'s mouth only a few months before.

"What occurred on the night of August 13th"

"I was with my gang, we were looking for younger kids to beat up and cars to smash because Harry is older and is harder to hit than he used to be. I was on my way home from beating up two 14 year -olds when I realized I had left my wallet at the playground. I had it out because I was stealing the 14 year-old's money when I was beat them up. When I got close the playground, Harry was right there on the swing. We started to talk, when suddenly everything became cold. The street lamps broke from the heat change, and the ground started to frost over. Then I felt it. I began to feel as if every bit of happiness I felt from beating up those kids was leaving me. I felt every bit the fat ugly pig that I am. "

Aunt Petunia was sobbing now, completely freaked out by the monotone that her "Dudder's" was using.

"Then I saw Harry. It was like some pair of invisible hands had grabbed him by the shoulders and was pulling him away. He was trying to grab onto the swing but wasn't strong enough. He was shouting at me to run and save myself. Then, I did the first brave thing in my life. I ran toward Harry and the epicenter of the darkness and bad feelings. I reached out for him and he grabbed onto me and I began to pull him down the street with me. It was then that Harry's stupid owl, that my Dad want's to kill, came swooping down carrying Harry's wand. Harry grabbed it and said something that sounded like 'Expacto Patronim or Expexto Partinuim, or something like that… Something silver shout out of his wand in the shape of a stag and gave the Dementors a good thumping, it sent them running for cover like Roy Jones Jr.! We got home and Harry passed out. Dad grabbed Harry's wand and snapped it out of anger, than he replied to some stupid owl thing that some stupid magical ministry sent. When Harry regain consciousness, he didn't have a wand, so when the Ministry man started torturing him-"

"Torturing! How dare he implicate-" Screamed Fudge.

"Don't interrupt." Said Madam Bones strongly.

"he just sat there screaming while the man with the long blond hair and strange snake cane waved his magic wand at him like Zoro waves his sword in the movies. He was screaming words that sounded like Crocio or Cruciu or something like that… Finally Mom realized that the man was not just going to hurt Harry, but probably all of us. She grabbed a frying pan-"

"You mean an ANTI-WIZARD-ATTACK-WEAPON!" screeched Fudge.

"No, I mean a cooking device used to make muggle food such as eggs, pancakes, quesadilla, omelets, bacon, hash browns, more hash browns, I like hash browns, crepes,-"

"That's enough, Mr. Dursley." She turned to face Fudge. " And you Mr. Fudge, It is considered a violation of a person's rights to ask any questions other than the ones that are specifically related to the situation they agreed to testify on when the person is under a compulsion like Veritaserum. I don't want any more questions about 'ANTI-WIZARD-ATTACK-WEAPONS'. Mr. Dursley, please continue." Said Madame Bones harshly.

"Anyway, the blond guy who looks like a girl gets angry because of this and waves his wand-magic stick -thingy even more wildly which sends Harry flying out of the house. Harry disappears into the night and the blond guy runs after him cursing and sending green light everywhere."

"Thank you Mr. Dursley, Dumbledore smiling.

Harry was trying to mask his shock. That sounded all very informal and simple, the words were all words Dudley would use yet while the entire thing had been monotone, their seemed to be an underlying sarcasm in the words. There were lots of extra things cropping up in the story. It was strange, not like Crouch, who seemed to struggle to hold back each word- except the part where he exclaims that he will be honored above all Death Eaters! That is it. You must be able to add truthful things to the story at the teller's discretion, but how had Dumbledore managed to get Dudley to say all that. It didn't exactly make Dudley look good.

The Wizengamot was in stunned silence. They all could agree, what Dudley had described had fitted a muggle interpretation of a dementor attack. That, however, was hardly the most stirring part of what Dudley had said. The whole thing should a different light on the boy who lived. Bullied by his cousin, his wand snapped by his uncle, he was quite the tragic figure. But what to do about Lucius? He was not an enemy anyone wanted. It certainly sounded as if he had been doing something _prohibited_.

"You expect us to believe this!" Said Fudge, echoing his earlier words, however this time it seemed many people did believe it.

"And to think that you almost sent this boy to the dementors without even hearing his testament." Said Dumbledore as if he was talking to no one in particular.

"There is still the matter of his resisting arrest!" Shouted Fudge.

"In which case I will require that this trial be postponed until such time as Lord Malfoy has been thoroughly examined for his part in this and a formal enquiry made by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." replied Dumbledore.

"I am not on trial here." Lucius Malfoy roared from the group.

"Indeed not," said Dumbledore calmly. "But if the Court feels that not enough evidence has yet been compiled to drop the charges, I must insist on a criminal level investigation by the aurors."

"I propose a motion that the charged be dropped of all charges." Stated Augustus Longbottom, looking at Dumbledore.

"Second," shouted another voice.

"All in favor," said Madam Bones in triumph.

Slowly the vast majority of the body raised their hands, including a very sly Lucius Malfoy, who looked relieved that the trial was being brought to an end. Fudge looked, resigned, at the numbers. The blow to Lucius was a blow to him. While he wanted Potter and Dumbledore, he could not afford to risk Lucius, metaphorically or monetarily.

"Opposed," said Madam Bones for formality. No one raised their hands, although several including Fudge, abstained.

"Harry James Potter is cleared of all charges." Said Fudge in a tired voice.

With that, the chains binding Harry sprung free and Dumbledore grabbed Harry's hand and quickly escorted him from the hall, and the ministry itself, not pausing to let anyone talk to either of them.

The exited the ministry through the floos, flooing directly back to Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

When they arrived back, they could hear people upstairs, however the room was empty.

"Harry, I wan't you to know that I am very proud of how you handled that trial. It was not supposed to happen like that. Few adult wizards could have sat through that as well as you did."

"Professor, what happened with Dudley."

"Ah, you picked up on it. Very observant. I visited the Dursley's before the trial and had Dudley go over the whole story under Veritaserum. I had him practice the tone I wanted the words to have in the court. Dudley was adamant about helping you, unlike his parents. He feels he owes you a great debt for you saving his life, this was how he could help repay it. Dudley and I went over true details he could add that would give the right impression. I wanted Dudley to make you look tragic to the Wizengamot, and for him to look unintelligent, like how many of them view muggles. We both know that there are very intelligent muggles, but in this case we needed to play to the purebloods weakness. Also the added narrative makes the story sound more believable. By portraying himself in bad light, Dudley made it unquestionable that he was telling exactly what happened, not that he wasn't but it helped them believe it."

"Where you in Slytherin, Professor?"

"Harry, all the houses have admirable traits. If you want to live as long as I have then you will need to learn to wield all those skills. Besides, as headmaster I am really the head of all the houses. I need to exercise my Slytherin now in then. I believe it is time you go and find you friends Harry. I am sure they have a lot of questions and will want to hear how it all went. I will see you on September first." He glanced at his watch than looked back at Harry as though he had forgotten something. "Also, About your wand Harry, I have taken the pieces to Ollivander's and asked if he can do anything to fix it. I will try to have something back to you within the next few days…. I am proud of you Harry."

With those words He left, leaving as usual, a contemplative Harry in his wake.

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Reviews are always appreciated!**


	9. Chapter 8

**First, Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate your comments. I know that several people are wondering about the Harry/Ginny part of the story. Rest assured that they will be coming together; How it will happen should be obvious by the end of the Chapter. Also, all the previous chapters have been edited for mistakes and updated.**

**This chapter picks up directly where the last one left off.**

Deciding to ignore Dumbledore's advice to head upstairs, Harry sat in the kitchen for several minutes in deep thought. The subject of his thinking was the Dursleys- or more importantly Dudley Dursley. Dudley had shocked him today, to be honest. He had been essential to Harry winning the trial and, if what Dumbledore said was true, he had done it all willingly. Harry had to admit, subjecting oneself knowingly to veritaserum took a lot of bravery. Bravery was not a character Harry had ever attributed to Dudley Dursley- then again, neither was gratitude. Dudley was actually grateful for the fact that Harry had been able to produce a Patronus. Gratitude went both ways, however. Harry had to admit, that for the first time in his life, he was indebted for Dudley Dursley. Dudley had not only saved him once, but twice by his own will in the course of week.

Perhaps there was hope of reconciliation, at least between Dudley and him. Harry had low hopes that Uncle Vernon would ever change. As his sister 'Aunt' Marge used to say "Old dogs don't change their spots." She was a rather simpleminded woman who pretended to be far more educated then she was. Even Harry knew that she had dogs confused with leopards.

Aunt Petunia. He wasn't sure what to think. She did not seem as hopeless as Uncle Vernon, but he did not think he wanted to come to peace with her. She had been the one who had made his childhood hell. She was the one who had forced him to work in the kitchen. Sure, when Uncle Vernon had been home he had been cruel, but it was Aunt Petunia who had subserviated him.

Looking back, he couldn't help but wonder if it was all out of jealousy. The Dursleys always tried to have the most expensive car on the block, or the best kept lawn. While they claimed to worship normality, it seemed to Harry that they were really yearning for abnormality. Somewhere along the quest to be the most normal, they had set themselves beyond their neighborly peers. That in its self was the definition of abnormality.

The look he saw in his Aunts eyes, the cold look that had always evaded him, that was jealousy. It seemed ironic, that his Aunt could have grown to hate thing she did not have for the reason she didn't have it. Harry was not sure he completely understood. He wasn't a physiatrist, and he wasn't Hermione, but he felt he had begun to understand why his childhood had been the nightmare it was. Dumbledore had said after the tournament that understanding was the only way toward acceptance. He was resolved, nevertheless; from that point on, he would not let any of the Dursleys treat him like a slave. He would not be doing their chores and cooking. He had done enough work in the last 13 and half years of his life to earn his room and board in their house till he turned 17.

His thoughts now more clear, Harry got up from his seat on the moth-eaten couch. Composed, Harry felt he was now ready to tell his friends about his trial. He headed upstairs toward the sound of working voices, and paused on the landing. It seemed that the Weasleys and Hermione were working in the drawing room on one thing or another. This home was veritably called the House of Black, everything in it was covered in filth and filled with decay.

He opened the door and looked inside. His eyes were greeted with a sight of utter chaos. Ron was holding his now swelling finger, trying to get the doxy on it to let go, while Fred and George were attempting to grab stunned doxies from the floor when Mrs. Weasley wasn't looking. Mrs. Weasley was fighting a rather intense battle with several doxy, using Gilderoy Lockhart's household pests guide as a weapon. Hermione and Ginny were still holding their bottles of doxicide, and were spraying the continuous stream of doxies emerging from the black velvet drapes.

"Immobulius!" shouted Harry, thinking back to his Lockhart's first class. He just needed to keep them still, like the pixies.

It took a few seconds for everyone to realize that the doxies weren't moving, and they could relax.

"Harry!" yelled Hermione, in shock.

All the heads turned to face the door way.

"How did it go Harry dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley, shooting a look to Fred and George who looked like they had been about to say something.

"Cleared, cleared of all charges." Said Harry with satisfaction.

"He got off!" shouted the twins.

"The law was really clear… You never did anything wrong. I mean a student has to be allowed to defend themselves..." Hermione slipped into a lecture about underage magic, bias laws, and the dangers of dementors. Harry probably would have tried to listen had Ginny, Fred, and George not been distracting him. They had taken to dancing around him in a circle yelling "He GOT OFF!" like a chant.

"I am so glad to hear that-" said Mrs. Weasley.

"HE GOT OFF!"

"I have to admit-"she said, trying to continue.

"HE GOT OFF!"

"I was a tad worried that Fudge would try to discredit you in light of recent-"

"HE GOT OFF!"

"ENOUGH!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "Harry has just spent the last few hours in Madam Bones's office being questioned. The last thing he needs now is you lot blowing his ears out!"

"That's okay Mom," said Fred.

"You have got that covered for use." Finished George.

"You had better behave, or there will be more doxy filled rooms to clean." She warned.

"Harry did you use a spell to stop the doxy?" said Hermione suspiciously. "Because if you did, don't you think it might have been a little rash considering you just came from an underage magic trial?"

"He got off Hermione!" said Ron exasperated. "besides it's not like he was on trial, he was just at a hearing with Madam Bones."

Harry decided it would be better to intervene then let this argument continue. Not sure how to broach the subject, Harry decided to go with a blunt and to the point approach.

"Actually I was on trial in front of the whole Wizengamot." Said Harry quietly.

"What do you mean, 'on trial'." Asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Fudge decided to try me in front of the whole Wizengamot, at first he didn't even give me a chance to tell him my story. He had proposed a 10 year sentence in Azkaban when Dumbledore arrived." Harry deadpanned as quickly as he could to prevent the interruption he knew was coming.

"What!" screeched Mrs. Weasley.

"But, but, but, how could they do that?" said Hermione in disbelief. "It isn't like you broke any serious law!"

"Who said my name?" said a jubilant voice from the door way. When no one laughed, Sirius continued "I guess that wasn't the right time for a joke really… Anyway, Harry! It's great you got off." He said. He let the words sink in for a moment, his eyes clouding over. "I was going to try to get Dumbledore to let you stay here if you got expelled…" He said to himself quietly. Realizing that everyone had heard him he quickly said "I'm sorry about that, Harry, it's just nice to have you here. I'll miss you while you're at school."

"What about us?" Fred and George put in, breaking the tension.

Harry hadn't thought about how Sirius would be feeling, alone in this blasted house all year round. This year, he wasn't going to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, that was for sure. If only Wormtail hadn't known about 'Padfoot" otherwise Sirius might have been able to come to Hogwarts as a dog again.

"Of course I'll miss you, I will miss all of you."

"Harry, there must be some mistake-" said Mrs. Weasley.

"No, no mistake Molly," said Sirius. "I just got a note from Arthur while I was feeding Buckbeak, they had him on full trial in front of the Wizengamot. Arthur said they even forced him to sit in _the chair_."

"How could they. For Underage Magic! Why the ministry has fallen so far in these last few years-"

"Um, Mrs. Weasley? Do you think we could start clearing up these doxy?" said Harry, hoping to stop her tirade.

The Weasley children snickered.

"Bad choice Harry." Whispered George.

"Yes, about that spell you used Harry. I can't believe that you would do something like that right after you had just got off trial. Hermione is right, that was very irresponsible of you. I expected better." Rebuked Mrs. Weasley.

"Perhaps it would be better if I don't say anything?" Harry whispered back.

"Quite right," said Fred as he picked up a doxy.

Harry did his best to help clear the mess of doxies by levitating them into bag. Fred and George kept pestering him to have the levitating Doxies play a game of quiditch, while Hermione kept asking him questions about his trial which he dutifully attempted to answer. Ron wined and complained about how late their lunch was going to be, and Ginny would make a sarcastic comment every few sentences that would earn a few laughs.

Mrs. Weasley had gone downstairs to clean the doxies off her precious Gilderoy Lockhart book, which left Sirius alone with the youth. Sirius had taken the opportunity to start magicking the doxy away; Mrs. Weasley had refused to use magic before because it "subtracted from the moral experience".

It was with good humor that everyone headed downstairs for a late lunch at about 2 o'clock. Fred and George made a point of apperating downstairs, which angered the four that couldn't do magic. Harry just floated through the floor, leaving Sirius roaring with laughter at the expression on Ron's face, and the "Et-tu" Brutus from Hermione.

In any event, the all managed to arrive in the kitchen in under a minute. Mrs. Weasley had coerced the twins into setting the table, much to their displeasure. At the sight of Hermione and Ginny, she immediately handed them tasks in the kitchen. That certainly earned Ginny's ire. Ron was grabbed, and given the job of peeling some carrots. Only Harry was left without a task. It was irritating, not being asked to help, he felt completely useless. He occupied himself by talking with everyone, as he waited for something to do.

Finally, the lunch was finished, and Harry had an idea. He quickly attempted to levitate the pot of stew, bread, and drinks to the long kitchen table. Suddenly, he felt a stain in his magic, like a muscle that had been used too much and was cramped. The bread landed gently on the table, but the stew was less fortunate. Everyone's eyes had locked onto the giant cook pot now. It continued to move toward the table, but was wobbling ominously. Mrs. Weasley reached for her wand just as the pot fell, but was not quite fast enough. Luckily, Sirius was. He caught the pot just before it hit the floor with a levitation charm, and guided back onto the table.

Harry felt the world spin, the kitchen seemed to fly around him. He couldn't keep his eyes open, it was like he was really tired….

!$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*() !$%^&*()

Dumbledore had to admit he had been expecting this. Since he had realized what had happened to Harry he had known that this would happen. The problem was it was happening to soon. He took a slow sip of Rosmerta's firewhiskey. He did not normally drink anything stronger than a glass of red wine, but tonight he felt he needed something stronger. He put down drink, having only drunk a few sips. There would be time after the Order meeting to finish it.

Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived…to have already faced so many challenges… Dumbledore was at a loss of what to do next. It was rare that he was completely baffled. To be honest, he felt that after being alive for over 100 years, he had seen almost everything that the wizarding world had to offer. However Dumbledore was not vain enough to think himself omnipotent. He was aware that there were things of which he had little or no understanding. He also knew that sometimes, it took more than one person to rationalize a solution. With that in mind, he apparated to Number 12 Grimmauld place to deal with one of the many problems that orbited around Harry Potter.

Dumbledore arrived in the kitchen to a panicked mass. Harry Potter had feinted, and Molly Weasley had felt it fit to tell everyone. Almost the entire Order was here. He sighed, he had given up swearing half a century ago as a teacher. He had hoped that only a few choice people, Arthur, Molly, Severus, Sirius, Minerva, and perhaps Alastor would be here. What he had to say needed to be as private as possible.

He cleared his throat loudly, causing everyone to fall silent. The room was full to the brim with people who were trying to silently eat the copious amounts of food being thrust in front of them by Molly. For a moment he considered getting some dinner himself and postponing the meeting, but that thought was quickly silenced.

"Good evening, why don't we all take a seat." He said, letting his words sink in. His eyes found Mundungus who was surrounded by a purple haze of smoke from his pipe. With a wave of his wand the smoked cleared, and Mundungus, realizing that Dumbledore wanted his attention, quickly put the pipe away.

"First, since we're all here, Bill could you keep the minutes of the meeting please." Said Dumbledore pleasantly. Bill quickly nodded and grabbed a quill.

"Dedalus," said Dumbledore, starting the meeting in earnest. "did you see any suspicious activity on you watch of the prophecy today?

"Nothing that caught my attention; however Fudge had a rather long meeting with Lucius."

"Does anyone have anything they need to bring up?" asked Dumbledore?

There was a good 15 seconds of silence before…

"I have something, Harry is still UNCONSCIOUS since he feinted!" said Molly, petulantly.

"Yes, I know," said Dumbledore wearily. "that will likely be the subject of the rest of the meeting, so I would like to get everything else out of the way."

"Well I for one would like to know why Harry was in Court Room 10 at 8:00 in front of the Wizengamot instead of in Madam Bones's office at 10:00." Said Sirius angrily.

"That would be Fudge," Said Dumbledore. "He did not have any intention of Harry getting off. But that is not anything we didn't know. Anything else?" He paused, carefully looking around the room. It was a good thing the kitchen table was so large.

"Alright," Dumbledore said, pausing as if he didn't know how to continue. "We previously discussed Harry's condition, and we are all aware that he can't stay in that form forever?" The Order members nodded in response.

"We had discussed that a time would come within the next year when Harry would start to fade from this world…. Well that time has come, sooner than we expected."

His words wear met by silence. No one had come expecting that. Some faces filled with shock, while others were close to tears. The fact that Molly was part of the second group, was the only reason she didn't start yelling at Dumbledore.

"Harry passed out today because his magic is slowly leaking into the environment. It has reached a point that he didn't have enough to complete the levitation, and passed out from exhaustion."

"Damn! I knew I should have stopped him!" Said Sirius to himself.

"Now, you all know that Severus has been working to formulate a ritual to return Harry to his body, however we also have discussed that the earliest that Severus has been able to calculate so far is sometime in March. That presents us with a problem."

"What about possession? Couldn't Harry possess something like a cat or dog?" asked Sirius hopefully.

"Unfortunately Sirius, I don't believe that possession of even a complex animal, such as a cat or dog, would slow down the deterioration enough to last Harry until March."

"Well how about a human?" Sirius replied.

"Possession is considered a Dark Art for a reason. In order to possess a human, with a magical core and a soul, the shade would have to push part of the victim's soul in order to make room. Quirinus Quirril died when Voldemort left him because his soul had been badly damaged by possession. Victims don't always die, but long term possession damages a person's soul to the point of instant death. It is my guess that Harry wouldn't even be able to possess a person, for to do so is to attempt to latch on and over power the person's character. There is no good way to do it."

"My Ginny's soul is broken! She was possessed…" said Molly in horror, breaking the somber silence.

"No, Molly, Ginny's soul is not broken but-" He stopped nearly choking as a revolutionary idea popped into his head. A soul bond… But would it work?

"But what?" asked Mr. Weasley.

Dumbledore ignored him, and conjured a glass of firewhiskey, it might just work. It would be controversial, it would be difficult, and absolutely no one would like the idea, but it might just save Harry's life.

"Everyone, I have a plan to save Harry's life, and keep him alive until Severus works out a rebirth ritual. How many people have heard about the events of that occurred with the Chamber of Secrets in Harry's second year?" Seeing only a few heads nod, Dumbledore continued. "Well, to summarize, Harry put himself at risk to kill a 60 foot Basalisk, saving Ginny Weasley." There were many gasps of astonishment as people attempted to process that Harry had fought a 60 foot Basalisk.

"How old was the boy?" asked Moody.

"Just twelve." Said Dumbledore proudly.

"Amazing."

"Anyway, how many of you have heard of soul bonds?" Said Dumbledore, laying the trump card down.

"But Ablus surely you don't mean that-"

"Good Heavens!"

"Just a second!" Shouted Sirius. "Let the man explain."

"Harry Potter will possess Ginny Weasley." Said Dumbledore, smiling at his own innovative idea.

"NO!" Screamed Molly Weasley loudly. "HE MOST DEFINATLY WON'T!"

"But Molly, because Harry and Ginny have a potential for a soul bond, the connection is already there. Harry can safely possess Ginny without disrupting Ginny's soul, because he already has a link to her soul." Said Dumbledore, realizing that he shouldn't have had this discussion in front of such a large group of spectators.

"What makes you think my daughter is soul-bonded?" replied Molly swiftly.

"I am sorry, let me amend my statement. They do not yet have a soul bond, but will likely develop one because of the events that occurred in the Chamber of Secrets. Don't forget your daughter's old fondness for Harry either. The combined stress of the Chamber and the existing affection, meant that there is an imprint already on each of their souls. Harry's soul can latch on to Ginny's like puzzle pieces fitting together. " Dumbledore finished, pleased with his metaphor.

Molly, however, was not so amused.

"Arthur, help me explain!" said Molly in distress. "They can't _share_ a body!" she gasped at Dumbledore.

"What the Headmaster is trying to say is: the Potter brat will _**die**_ if this isn't done. And as much as that would make my potions class easier…" Snape drawled.

"But he'll be… be… possessing!... Controling.. Her!" Molly said frantically.

"No, he will be more of a spectator in her mind, Molly, I doubt Harry has the legilimency skill necessary to take control of her mind at this point." Dumbledore added.

"All the same THIS WILL NOT BE HAPPENING!"

The Order watched the argument pass with reactions from abject horror to mild amusement. Dumbledore himself seemed to be mildly intimidated by Molly's wrath. Sirius and Mundungus were clutching their chests from all their laughing, while others like Minerva simply felt awkward like they were intruding.

Arthur Weasley was lost in the thought for most of the argument, thinking the situation through in his head. He alone did not seem to be paying any attention to Dumbledore or Molly. Finally Arthur stood up and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Molly, I think Dumbledore is right." He said quietly.

"What!" she whispered.

"Do you want Harry to die? We have already lost Percy this year." He said sadly.

She blinked, muted and after a few seconds sat down before bursting into silent tears. The other Order members tried to respectfully ignore her, and Minerva went as far as to point out that it might be better for Mad Eye to take over the meeting and let Dumbledore, Sirius, and the Weasleys work out what was going to happen.

Sirius led the group into a sitting room on the first floor. It was perhaps the least depressing room in the house thanks to the three windows that opened into the garden. He motioned two a 400 year old sofa as he poured everyone some mead in gold trimmed cups. Dumbledore stood at the doorway for a second muttering a spell to protect the conversation. When he was done, he too sat down and took a sip of the mead.

"So, have we been able to come to an agreement?" Asked Dumbledore.

"You have with us, but ultimately it will have to be Ginny who decides." Stated Mr. Weasley.

"Agreed, now how to tell them?"

"You need to tell them like the young adults they are." Said Sirius. "We tell them now, and we tell them together and we give them the choice."

Dumbledore sighed, before saying "I suppose you're right… Molly, have you had any luck waking Harry up?"

"No, not yet. Madam Pomfrey was here earlier, and she had no idea what to do except have him rest."

"I will deal with waking young Harry. Sirius, could you please go find Ginny?"

"Thanks for giving me a moment to compose myself." Said Molly gratefully as she sniffed into a tissue.

Harry felt his vision return to the same moon shaped glasses it had in his first year. The light in the room osculated, before slowly coming into focus, he still felt so tired. In fact, felt like just going back to sleep…

"Harry," said Dumbledore sharply. "You need to stay awake. The magic I gave you will help, but if you fall asleep you will fall back into a magical coma."

Harry attempted to get up, only to be stopped by Dumbledore.

"No, don't float, you need to save magical energy."

Using the same spell he had used after the tournament, Dumbledore levitated Harry down the stairs.

"Professor, where are we going?"

"There is a conversation we all need to have." He said mysteriously.

"We all?" Harry questioned.

"Patients Harry, you'll see in just a second."

Harry floated into the sitting room, like an emperor being carried on his thrown. Dumbledore smiled and canceled the spell with a flourish, conjuring a comfortable armchair under Harry. Looking around the room he saw Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, and Ginny- What was Ginny doing here? Even more strangely, Mrs. Weasley hadn't said anything to him yet. No "I am so glad you're better", it was mildly puzzling.

"Harry," started Dumbledore. "I am sorry to hear about the accident you have had since I left you several hours ago."

"Do you know what happened to me?" asked Harry curiously.

"I do." Said Dumbledore evenly. "Do you remember the conversation we had before about how your form we eventually start to deteriorate and dissipate as magic?" Harry nodded, not sure where this was going, then again he never was when it came to the headmaster.

"Harry, to put it in short, that time has come."

Ginny let out a muffled cry from the couch. Harry, himself, felt his head spin. He was going to die in the next few days? Was that why he had almost dropped the lunch? Because his magic was falling apart. It didn't make sense and he wasn't completely sure he wanted it to. This was all way too difficult to except.

"Now Harry, we talked about ways to avoid this, you may be able to survive through possession."

"I read about that. Won't the host die rather quickly unless it's-"

"Human." Interrupted Dumbledore, finishing the sentence for him. "And that is where Ginny comes in."

"What." Said Harry. "I couldn't do that."

Ginny looked at her parents in shock. This was what the Headmaster had wanted her for. To 'host' Harry Potter. She felt betrayed. She had been possessed once, and while she was sure Harry wouldn't be the same as Tom, she didn't want to go through that again.

"If you don't you will die. Ginny is the only one you could possibly possess because you two have a soul bond." Said Dumbledore, figuring that, like Sirius had said, the best way was to simply tell them all the information straight to their face.

Soul Bond! What was Dumbledore talking about. Soul bonds were just in fantasy novels were some witch is saved by a brave wizard- The CHAMBER OFSECRETS. Realization coursed through Ginny's mind. She, Ginny Weasley, was soul-bonded to Harry Potter. It had been what she wanted as a little girl, but the idea seemed completely different now. Dumbledore had said that Harry would die, DIE, if he didn't possess her. She didn't want him to die yet… Her mind was a sanctuary, a place she could safely think without ridicule; a place that was hers alone in a family were everything else seemed to be shared. Could she do this? Harry had saved her from Tom. Of course, there really wasn't a question and there really wasn't a choice, it wasn't like she could simply let him die.

"It would not be permanent, hopefully only a few months-"

"I'll do it, I let Harry possess me." Said Ginny forcefully.

"Ginny, don't, you don't have to." Said Harry weakly.

"Harry you are going to die if we don't do this. Trust me, I don't think it is going to be that much fun either. What do we need to do?"

Dumbledore smiled encouragingly, while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley spectated apprehensively. Sirius simply looked pensive and worried.

"Just relax your mind, Ginny." She felt a calming spell hit her as she sat down. "Harry, you remember what do right?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry nodded, before shooting Dumbledore and the Weasleys and Sirius one last look. Finally he floated toward Ginny just like he had with Buckbeak, and looking straight into her brown eyes, he felt himself enter her mind. 

**What did you think? Nice big unexpected twist. Reviews would all be greatly appreciated, especially on this chapter!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer-Just so you know, I am NOT lord Voldemort, even if there is some resemblance. **

**First, thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story. I was extremely pleased to receive 16 reviews on the last chapter alone. I appreciate the support and enthusiasm. I am really sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I found this particular chapter far more difficult to write. Also, you can expect another update over the thanksgiving time period as well. To clarify, thoughts are **_**italicized**_**; spoken words are in quotation marks. I hope this system works and is not to confusing. Let me know if there is a better or more conventional way.**

The world was gone. All that was left was darkness. The darkness flowed and shifted, like a gas. Nothing could be seen, nothing could be heard. It seemed chaotic, and untamed; yet there was a sense of peace, an other-worldly tranquility. There was not mass, nor gravity or wind, no friction, no light. There was nothing. The world had gone dark for Harry James Potter.

It was inside this swirling mass that Harry found himself. Like a current was pushing him, his essence was swirled, mixing into it surroundings. He was afraid. It was as if the alien environment was trying to rip him apart, to absorb him. He reached out and pulled himself into a ball in an attempt to isolate himself. He could not think. His mind was hazed as if in a dream. Why was he here?

He sheltered himself from the alien presence that continued to attempt to invade him. It seeped in, like water, forcing him to constantly reform his shape. He was fighting a battle against time, as if on a sinking ship. Soon he would be absorbed.

It was too fast. He felt the cool tendrils creep into his essence, dissolving it like a sugar cube dropped into a hot cup of tea. He was shrinking, disappearing into the darkness. Then he was gone….

It was at that moment that his awareness became lucid again. He was aware of the matter around him. Thoughts! They were foreign-he must have successfully possessed Ginny. He felt his essence, suspended in the substance like a solution. He felt involuntary signals; one that caused the heart to beat; one that caused the diaphragm to expand and pull in air; one that controlled the rapid eye motion…. What? Why would Ginny's eyes be moving so fast and why couldn't he see?

He reached out with his essence, worried. All he could sense was slumber. He couldn't sense any thoughts except the steady beat of the heart, and other such happenings. He felt nothing remotely coherent.

Stretching out further through her mind, he felt small pockets of thought, seemingly held together in some sort of shared purpose. Fascinated, he prodded one gently. Suddenly, he felt his awareness shift….

He was sitting in a stone-walled classroom. Unlit torches lined the walls. The windows were open, and a cool fall breeze was stirring. The sun was peeking out from behind a small cloud; it seemed to be late afternoon.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" said Professor Flitwick, swirling his wand.

Harry felt his gaze follow the hovering book out over the desks. He could hardly contain his surprise at the sight of Colin, and Luna, and- Wait! He had never met Luna! How could he know her name? How could her recognize her face? Luna Lovegood, the girl who lived in the tower near the Burrow, a Ravenclaw. The girl whose father was the editor of the Quibbler.

Harry recoiled in shock and repulsion. He had just invaded one of Ginny's memories. He felt disgusted with his mistake, and was careful to avoid the many similar packets of memories that floated through Ginny's mind.

The question remained, were was Ginny? He did not hear any thoughts, nor did he feel any senses. Maybe other people didn't talk to themselves inside their head? Maybe other people didn't think the same way he did? He felt self-conscious and insecure. Maybe other people's minds were organized better than his. Maybe he was a freak. He tried to relax and sense what thoughts he could, however all he felt was exhaustion.

Then it dawned on him. Maybe Ginny was asleep! He thought about it for a second. Dumbledore had cast a relaxation charm, and it probably was tiring to host another mind or soul or whatever he was. He shouldn't have done this to Ginny. No matter what Dumbledore had said, this had been a mistake. He couldn't ask Ginny to go through this for him. He looked around, trying to decide how he could pull out of her mind. As he observed, he started to realize how different a human mind was. First off, there was far more space for thoughts. The amount of room baffled him. It seemed as if he would be hardly burdening Ginny's mental processing speed with his presence. There was plenty of space for both of their thoughts. While this was fascinating, it was the magic the mystified him. Veins of magic flowed through in a network, like the plumbing of a house. He could almost imagine how a spell might tweak one in just the right way to get a desired result. What troubled him was that this was nothing like the times he had possessed different animals. He had never been physically aware of their mind; he had always been simply observing through their eyes and moving their body instead of his. It might have been because they had all been awake, he reasoned. Maybe this was something one could only experience asleep.

Suddenly he felt a ripple in the matter around him, like a wave. As the wave moved, Harry felt the essence around him begin to swirl with greater energy. He was aware of Ginny's heart beat rising, and her breathing picking up; he felt the motion of her eyes cease….

He was falling, through the essence of her brain, down wards. He felt his hold on reality slip, and then he saw the light.

…

Madam Pomfrey was waving her illuminated wand, the light temporarily blinding him. Everything was off. The colors were strange, as if everything had been warped. None of the colors were quite right, it was like watching a color film from the 1950's the green seemed yellow, and the blue seemed grey.

'What the Hell!'

Harry felt the thought reverberate, the compressing of the diaphragm as air was forced out, the contorting of the mouth, and the soft palate moving to form the words. But the thought was foreign, the words came out in a voice that was not his own. Somewhere inside his consciousness, he knew what had happened, that Ginny had awakened, yet this thought was rationalized in the brief instant in which the aforementioned occurred.

His mind screamed with animalistic instinct and reared forward in shock. His mind was assaulted with extrinsic senses. The smell, it was like walking into the back of a musty old restaurant, overwhelmed the nose and deadened the mind. His head, throbbing, as if ailed with a horrible fever. His mind, clouded, feverous and dazed.

He felt himself falling forward, his coordination ruined by the shorter body. He hit the stone floor. His deadened mind registered the form of Madam Pomfrey, moving excitedly like a bumble bee in his vision. It was blurry again but squinting he thought he could make her out. He couldn't focus on anything, his vision wasn't working right at all.

Madam Pomfrey dove toward the fallen form, calming draught in hand. With a shaking, yet practiced hand she delivered the potion with a sigh. It seemed that the Potter boy's propensity for injury extended past his body. She lifted the body into one of the hospital beds and sat down. It was far too late at night to still be working…

Harry felt the cold potion go down his throat, he attempted to move his arm to steady himself- "STOP" a thought echoed urgently. What was he doing? He was in Ginny's body! He had completely forgot. Everything made sense now, the mind-numbing pain that had clouded his thoughts, the strange vision and the abnormal assault of the senses. This was not his body. He remembered his strange journey inside Ginny's mind like it had been a dream. Parts of it were clouded, while other parts seemed to be seared into his memory.

"I am so sorry…" he whispered quietly. He had taken control of her body; she would want him to leave. He had betrayed her trust, she would never want to even talk to him again, he would be lucky if she even considered him a friend still.

"SHUT UP!" an angry voice replied, confusing Harry. He had hoped his apology would at least been listened to. Maybe his crime had been more severe than he had thought…

"I said SHUT UP. I can hear all of those thoughts Harry. I know you're sorry, and I know what happened. It's o.k. your mind went into shock. I would have probably as well had you not been freaking out for me!"

Had she heard everything he had said? This had been a mistake; she didn't deserve to have this happen to her.

"Take that back!" came an angry reply.

"Take what back?" Harry asked, wondering what she meant.

"This isn't a mistake, I want you to survive!"

Madam Pomfrey listened to the snippets of conversation coming from Ginny's mouth. If she had not been aware of what was going on it would have been frightening, all the same it was disturbing to listen to. It took all of her discipline not to say anything; she knew from years of experience as a healer that sometimes it was better just to let things work themselves out. Besides, there seemed to be much of the conversation that she was missing. She had heard "Take that back!" but had not heard anything that needed to be taken back. It seemed that at least part of the conversation was taking place mentally which was good, it meant that Harry and Ginny where adapting.

"_Wait! Did you hear everything I thought?"_

"_And I thought that Harry had to be smart after spending so many years with Hermione around to boost his intellect_," thought Ginny.

"_Hey! I heard that!"_

"_Did that answer your question, because we haven't been speaking aloud."_

"_Cool."_ Was Harry's simple reply.

Madam Pomfrey felt herself start to fall asleep. It seemed that the conversation was now completely mental. It was three in the morning; maybe she could get some sleep. She yawned softly and relaxed. Of course it had been Dumbledore's idea to subject this experience on those children. It was not a burden that she would place on any adult willingly, yet this would be their reality for the foreseeable future. A funny thing that was, the future, perhaps Sybil could tell her what was going to happen. She snorted at the thought, it seemed one of the prophecies she spotted out had been true. Harry's body had certainly died. Madam Pomfrey leaned back and shook away the morbid thought. Harry and Ginny would need her help in times that were to come: she didn't need a sibyl to tell her that, and certainly not Sybil Trelawney.

"_Listen I am sorry I invaded one of you memories."_ Harry stated.

"_Don't worry about it, it wasn't like you saw anything particularly personal, it was just charms class."_

"_So, you saw the memory at the same time I did?"_

"_Yes, it was like I was dreaming. I was in the memory, and at the same time it was not quite like reliving it."_

"_I wonder what this will mean for you this year."_

"_Merlin's Pants!" _ Though Ginny excitedly. "_I will know all the answers on all the tests! Harry you , remember everything from fourth year, right?"_

"_Somewhat." _Replied Harry hesitantly. _"Just remember I was in the middle of the tournament at the time."_

"_Oh right, well… You can teach me how to do an Accio Charm at least. After all, if you can see my memories, I ought to be able to see yours somehow…"_

"_I'm glad you're awake now, it was scary to be inside your mind when you were asleep. I was trapped and couldn't see or feel or hear anything."_

"_You're telling me! That was the worst dream I ever had." _

"_You have to admit, it was interesting to see how the brain works." _He added reasonably.

"_I would have been fine without it… all though I do feel smarter with you in my head. It is like I can process thoughts twice as fast." _She thought brightly_._

Their conversation quickly degraded into the mundane, as they discussed unimportant topics ranging from Ron's new owl, to Fred and George's extendable ears. They both purposefully avoided more passionate topics, like Voldemort's return, and the coming year that it seemed they would be spending in close proximity. If the two had been more forthright with themselves they probably would have stumbled upon some of the many problems that they would soon be facing. Ignorance is bliss, and while they were very much aware of the difficulties they would share, they both allowed themselves to ignore them. Harry found Ginny to be an engaging confidant, and they both conversed avidly. In consequence, it was late in the morning- the Sun had risen above the Scottish mountains- when Ginny decided that they should get up.

Harry quickly recognized the difficulties that would be presented should they both attempt the same action. He took a metaphorical step back in Ginny's mind stating expressively, _"Err I think it would be better if you did all the walking."_

"_Of course I'm doing all the walking! It's MY body!" _ Ginny replied angrily.

"_Sorry! I was just making a suggestion."_

"_Will you stop apologizing! I can't hear myself think."_

I can, thought Harry to himself.

"_I can hear your thoughts you idiot!"_

He couldn't stop his brain from responding subconsciously with a thought about the lack of privacy.

"_Privacy! You want to talk about Privacy!" _Ginny screeched inside her mind."You're in my body! If anyone should be worried about PRIVACY it is me."

The second part of her rant left her mouth loudly, echoing down the hall.

"Privacy will be a problem." A voice answered from the Hospital wing doors. "However it will not be the only problem that we will face. This situation will be vexing at best, but I believe that this is our only way to ensure Harry's survival."

Harry felt Ginny's eyes turn to look at the door. It was disconcerting, having his perception shift involuntarily, but if he had not been able to sense Ginny's reactions and movements, he would have been far more disquieted.

Dumbledore- of course it was Dumbledore- was standing in the doorway. It seemed he always was standing in doorway as Harry woke up from an injury.

"_Maybe this is normal for you, but this is the first time the Headmaster has snuck up on me like this."_

"Ginny," he said walking forward. "And Harry as well, once again, there are several things we must discuss."

"_Why can't he tell me the full story one of these times! It seems that we keep having discussions were I get half the message!" _Thought Harry angrily.

Ginny did not reply and tried to block out Harry's rant as best she could.

"As you may have realized at your trial, the Ministry is no longer on the best terms with me. I have been removed from many of my former positions and many of my accolades have been revoked-"

"Not the Chocolate Frog Card!" Interrupted Ginny.

"No, I still retain that distinct Honor… It always was my favorite award…. Alas, I digress." Said Dumbledore, straightening his glasses. "The Ministry will not rest until they succeed in turning the wizarding world against us." Dumbledore had moved to the window, and was looking out over the grounds with a sad expression of regret. "Hogwarts has been my home, for over 70 years of my life- longer than your combined age tripled- and yet I find myself starting this year with little hope for my future here. Harry, the Ministry will be coming to Hogwarts. They will seek to drive me from this castle. What I am about to say may lack humility, but remains true. I am what is keeping Voldemort away from Hogwarts. My skill in Legilimency is the only thing stopping Voldemort from infiltrating every level of this school. He knows that after the incident with Barth Crouch, I will not restrain my invasion of every mind that enters my school. Harry, it is immoral; it is sickening; it is ethically against all that I stand for, yet there are times that choices must be made… for the greater good." He said, finishing the last part quietly in a near whisper. "Voldemort seeks to pit the Ministry against us, to weaken his two strongest enemies. Voldemort's greatest strength is his ability to corrupt and undermine all that a person stands for. He will have us destroy ourselves from within. I have seen this all before Harry, the same was true of Grindelwald. When the time comes, Voldemort does not plan on conquering the wizarding world, he plans on accepting them willingly into his realm with loving embrace. People are easily swayed. This war could go both ways." He paused. "Harry, they are not going to stop. The dementor attack this summer was not Voldemort. You need to be ready. Think, who else would send the dementors?"

"The Ministry!" breathed Ginny.

"Exactly. Now Madam Umbridge, who you met at your trial, will be coming to Hogwarts this year to represent the Ministry. She will be teaching Defense against the Dark Arts. I suppose that brings me to the heart of the matter, Harry, no one can know you have come back to Hogwarts. I have spent a long time thinking on this subject, but I believe I have created a suitable strategy. Do you know what makes a lie effective?" He paused, and peered straight into Ginny's eyes. "The truth. We will tell the ministry exactly what they want to hear, we will tell them that you are suffering from conditions brought about by the tri-wizard tournament. Mental conditions that impair your physical ability to be present in class. We will say that your condition went steeply downhill after your trial- which it did. And most importantly, we will be strong. The ministry will take this as a final victory against Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter. You will be faced with the daily deprecation of your image, Harry. I wish we could make this easier but I believe it is our only way to keep the truth from Voldemort. He is aware that you have experienced repercussions from your duel by his father's grave, through Lucius he knows that something has happened that has made you not quite human. We will feed him a lie he can believe, and bate both of our opponents- the Ministry and Voldemort- with the same hook. "

"What about everyone who already knows? Can't the You-Know-Who use Legilimency on them?" asked Ginny curiously.

"Indeed, that is a most grave thought, a secret is not truly a secret if more than one person knows… In any event, I believe that I have guarded that as best I can. I have taken steps, binding magical oaths and charms to prevent another Peter Pettigrew. It is still a balanced risk…"

"_Yes and my life is the fulcrum." _ Thought Harry.

"the more people in the order that are aware of what has happened to Harry, the more that can help work toward a solution. I may have a great deal of experience, but I am by no means omnipotent in my knowledge will need as much help as possible to return you to a body . On the other hand, it would be incredibly dangerous if this secret where to be revealed…. Miss Weasley, did Mr. Potter have something to add? I saw your brow furrow."

"He was saying that the risk was balanced on his life." Ginny said shortly.

"It always has been," murmured Dumbledore. "And now your life as well. "

Ginny felt Harry starting to think, and quickly realized were his thoughts were headed.

"_I am glad you care about my safety, but I was a target before to some degree. My family is all order members, my brother is your best friend, and the Weasleys are the most reunion blood traitors in the country. It isn't like Voldemort would ever just leave my family alone."_

Harry did not respond. Debating was extremely difficult when the other person could already sense all of your points. Besides an argument was pointless anyway. He could sense Ginny's perspective and it was just as unwavering as his own. In any event, she had already heard all of his arguments as he had thought of them, he had shared his opinion.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, causing Ginny (and by extension Harry) to jump. It was baffling to Harry- jumping at the sound of a cough. Having experienced Dudley's constant attempts at making his life miserable- many having included catching him by surprise- Harry did not often jump in shock. It seemed almost, girly to him.

Ginny decided to ignore the thought about how "girly" it was to be surprised in light of how Harry had been treated. She had known that his family was not kind to him- one only had to see his uncles face at Kings cross to know that- but seeing how it had affected Harry had put her own childhood in perspective for her. She had lived a sheltered and blissful childhood- albeit without great wealth.

"_I don't want your pity."_ Said Harry, sensing her thoughts.

The words stung, like a knife. They felt cold, in a way that she had not expected from Harry.

"_Wait, I did not mean that in a hurtful way, I just don't want to be pitied. It makes me feel worthless."_

Ginny opened her thoughts and let the barrier created by her negative emotion fall away. She could sense the meaning of Harry's words again, and could feel their validity. It seemed that emotions clouded their communication. It certainly was confusing when they both were feeling emotional in particularly strong, different ways.

Dumbledore cleared his throat again before continuing, not letting the wind from the windows interrupt him. He waved his wand with finality, closing the window. Another wave slammed the curtains shut ominously.

"Do not think that I am asking you both to make all the sacrificing, for this to work I have to publically acknowledge that fudge was "right", and go humbly before him on hands and knees begging forgiveness. I assure you, it will be a most distasteful experience for me…. But we can't avoid it. We cannot fight both the Ministry and Voldemort simultaneously. We must keep are allies close for Voldemort seeks to ostracize us from each other…. I can see the title of the Daily Prophet tomorrow, the barmy old headmaster and the attention-seeking mad teenager who was brain-addled by the killing curse. We are in for a humbling year, but be warmed by the fact that soon they will all be asking for our forgiveness. Tom is slippery, but his patience is not infallible. He will reveal himself quite soon I suspect." The headmaster finished with a grim look across is aged face. His expression lightening, he continued: "Now that I have said what I wanted to say, let us return to your original question of privacy Miss Weasley. In short, it will be exceeding difficult. You are already sharing the same brain space, or as the muggles call them neurons. You are already aware of each other's thoughts, opinions, and even memories. There is truly very few ways you could have less privacy. What I will say is that it is imperative that you both learn to trust each other. You can have not secrets from each other the way you are now. I think you will find yourselves becoming very close friends over upcoming months."

"Professor, what exactly is a soul bond?" asked Ginny for both Harry and herself.

"Ah, a very good, and I suppose relevant, question. A soul bond is simply the manifestation of an exchange of magic between to people. Not like a spell, but part of the person's spirit, their source of magic. Depending on the size of the piece, it can result in varying side effects. Normally, the pieces switch both ways, each person receiving a portion of the other in return for part of their own, but that is not always true. The bond that Harry shares with Voldemort is fundamentally a soul bond." Seeing both of their disgust, Dumbledore quickly continued. "However, Voldemort did not switch pieces with Harry; his curse- the killing curse meant for Harry- simply broke part of Voldemort's own soul off which entered Harry- the only other living thing in the house. Whether that piece is still there is a discussion for another time. Anyhow, to continue, soul bonds do not mean love in themselves, and are not always associated with love as I am sure you have figured out. Think of it like switching an arm or a hand with someone. That in itself would not necessarily mean love. On the other hand, romance novels do have part of the story right. Depending on the situation and the mutual compatibility, different parts of the soul might switch. While it might be any piece, it can also be part of the metaphorical "heart". If that is the case than the soul bonds will find themselves both attracted to their bond mate. Sometimes a bond can facilitate mental communication, other times it might not. What we call a soul bond is very general term for a very complex condition that varies greatly between individuals. It is like referring to all cancers, as simply cancer. There are hundreds of types that have only a few things in common. In the end, what I do know for sure is that you two are soul bonded, because of the traumatic events of the chamber of secrets in which both of your lives, and Ginny's soul, were at risk. What this means for you, I can only guess; however, the part of Harry's soul that is already in you, Ginny, is what has allowed this co-habitation to be possible."

"_I just had disgusting thought." _Said Harry.

"_I know, remember." _Said Ginny.

"_You still have to admit that sharing your mind this closely with Voldemort would have been disgusting. I would feel sorry for Quirrel if he hadn't tried to kill me."_

"I expect that you both will wish to spend some time discussing things, as I can see you are doing now, so I will finish this quickly. While I am sure that your daily ablutions and other such activities will be awkward going forward, there is little that can be done. The awkwardness will pass as time goes by. "

Both Harry and Ginny, thinking on what Dumbledore said, found their mind wondering just what it was going to be like, going through a daily routine. Both of them eventually reached the same hiccup that was bound to occur around certain more private daily procedures.

"Also, Ginny will need to continue her 4th year class in order to maintain the subterfuge. On the other hand, we can't have you, Harry, falling behind this year. I will be scheduling some sort of outside of class practice for both of you. And for now, will leave you to your thoughts, though I do ask you stay inside the castle." He left quickly without looking back, as he always seemed to after a conversation.

Harry and Ginny passed the rest of the day talking about their past experiences, and catching up in general on the fact that for the last 4 years they had not been particularly close friends. Both learned a great deal about each other, and they spent some time viewing each of their respective memories.

The day also had its share of awkward moments, such as using the bathroom, but they found that sharing a mind helped. A great deal of the psychology of modesty has to do with worrying about how other people perceive you. By being completely open to each other's thoughts, it was- while still very awkward- manageable.

By the end of the day, they were talking much more frequently and eloquently with their minds. They soon found that many things did not need to be said when someone could follow your train of thought directly. It was much easier to get your point across at least. Still, an empty castle was only one step above a prison, and they both were anxious to return to Grimmauld Place- even though it would require having several difficult conversations with family and friends.

**I hope you liked this chapter, and would greatly appreciate any reviews that readers are driven to leave. This chapter was particularly challenging to write for me for a number of reasons, and if anyone knows a better way to write in third person limited with two characters sharing a mind (or wishes to point out a syntax mistake in how I did it) that too would be greatly appreciated.**


	11. Chapter 10

**First, thank you to everyone who reviewed this last chapter. I am not quite sure why chapter 8 got twice as many reviews as chapter 7 and chapter 9 as well as twice as many hits. Anyway, I don't own Harry Potter, and I am ****NOT**** Lord Voldemort.**

Ginny scrapped the last bit of treacle tart off the polished Hogwarts plate. The great hall was certainly disconcertingly empty-especially when viewed from the sparse staff table. She sighed; at least Dumbledore had said they could go back to Grimmauld Place the following morning.

"_Well, this might be the last time I eat treacle tart for a very long time."_

"_Really? I thought you liked it?" _Harry replied.

"_I did, but I like it better as leverage." _Thought Ginny carefully.

"_Leverage?"_

"_Against you." _

"_Wait, are you saying that you are going to use food against me?"_

"_That's right." _

Harry mentally sighed. There really wasn't much he could do. He would simply have to resign himself to sensing the wonderful flavors of Brussels sprouts and spinach and eggplants and leeks and arugula and-

"_Or, you could do what I want."_

"_You want me to help you cheat on every one of McGonagall's tests, don't you?"_ he exclaimed, reading her line of thought.

"_If you don't want to be eating a lot of Brussels Sprouts. Besides I might as well get something out of this." _Ginny thought shamelessly.

"_Slytherin."_

Ginny simply ignored his shapeless insult and stood up from the empty table. Professor McGonagall had told them earlier that the Gryffindor common room was open upstairs. She took off at a brisk pace toward the grand staircase. She didn't like being out in the empty corridors. At least at Grimmuald place, while still admittedly dark and dreary- even frightening, there was always someone in shouting distance.

"_Where are you going!" _Shouted Harry's mind as it provided an alternate route through a loose portrait. She must have been aware of it the second he was. Why wouldn't she use it?

He wasn't sure, but he thought Ginny was purposely ignoring his suggestion for the simple reason that it was _him_ that had thought of it, not _her._

"_Will STOP shouting at me to go your way! If this was your body, you could make the bloody decision yourself! I don't think I will be able to stand it if you always are telling me how to do things."_

Harry stopped. Maybe he did have a severe case of backseat driver syndrome. It wasn't surprising since he couldn't so much as breathe for himself. The amount of daily tasks that he kept having to stop his mind from trying to do was almost driving him insane.

They were both lucky that they were able to sense each other's thoughts because it quickly stopped them from being hurt by the words that they had said to each other. They could sense the fact that there wasn't any true malice.

Even having taken the longer route, the two quickly reached Gryffindor tower. Ginny sat down in front of the fire silently. Neither of them felt particularly like talking after their previous argument. The embers seemed to be reflecting the mood of the room. They were slowly flickering out as the short remaining flame licked the bottom of the log. It had been a long day; a tiring day; a strange day. Even for Harry, it had been an abnormally bizarre day.

After a few moments Ginny stood up abruptly and began to head upstairs into the girl's dormitory. She quickly found the bag her Mom had sent as it was sitting on the only made up bed. _God. _Did she really want to do this now? Yes. She told herself firmly. Better now than latter with her mum and brothers. It was inevitable. She couldn't just scorgify herself through the year. In fact, she couldn't even perform a scorgify without Harry's memories.

"_where are you going?" asked Harry hurridly, starting to realize where Ginny was heading._

"_To the bathroom."_

"_What!" he panicked. _

"_Look, I am not thrilled about this either, but I have waited long enough as it is. I am going to have to take a shower at some point, and I would rather it be before I see Mum again. Just wait, once she wraps her head around this situation, she will be trying to get me to bath with a blindfold… Or worse, she will knock me unconscious in an effort to protect my honor while she baths me herself. "_

"_But can't you just use a scourgify charm or something!"_

"What I don't understand," said Ginny out loud through gritted teeth, prudently looking away from herself as she made to get into the shower. "is why this is even more embarrassing for you than it is for me. It's my body. Beside, you should know yourself what a scorgify does to a person's skin. I would look like a prune for the rest of the week."

"_Do I have to explain why I am embarrassed? You can see my thoughts on the subject! I am sorry, but I can't change the fact that you're good-looking._

"_If you were listening __**my **__thoughts you would know that I am glad that you find me attractive- even if I still find this situation embarrassing…. And NO, that was not an invitation to look," _She sighed_ "I'll admit, this is not how I planned to get your attention when I was eleven."_

"_I didn't plan on getting hit by a killing curse either."_

"_Look, Harry, I think it all gets down to comfort. We are going to have to spend the foreseeable future together and, as the saying goes, we will have to be comfortable in our own skin- metaphorically, and physically."_

"_What does getting over modesty have to do with surviving?"_

"_We have to act like a normal person. Didn't you listen to Dumbledore? Someone from the Ministry is going to be at Hogwarts this year. We are going to have to work together and these arguments we been having… They are proving that we aren't really working together yet. Like I said before, why not use this to our advantage?"_

"_You mean your advantage." _Cut in Harry with a mental grin.

"_O.K., I'll admit that is where I was going," _ thought Ginny, smiling. "_but just think! There are two of us. Two minds! If we truly work together we should be able to outthink just about anyone. Two heads are better than one, right?"_

"_And two magical cores… we could beat Malfoy into a pulp…"_

"_I will not go looking for fights just because you want to find them." _Said Ginny, once again trying to avoid looking in the mirror as she stepped out of the shower.

"_We won't have to look for them. If you haven't noticed, trouble always seems to come to me. " _Said Harry morosely.

"_Oh stop with the self-pity Harry, it isn't like bad things haven't happened to other people too. At least you have never been possessed by Voldemort for a year."_

While Harry refrained from directly replying, Ginny still felt his thoughts turn to dangerous water: The Dursely's ; his parents; the bloody dementors from privet drive. She was hard-pressed to converse with him after that. His mind was there, but more than ever his thoughts just seemed to be in chorus with her own. He refused to have a traditional conversation, and simply allowed his subconscious to interact with hers.

Ginny's thoughts turned inwards after that. She thought of her friends and family. It would be good to get home tomorrow even though it would be an awkward situation. She wasn't sure if her younger siblings would know. It would be just like her mother to tell them that Harry had dragon pox or something and had to stay away for a while. She loved her mother dearly, but she had an ironic tendency to mother excessively. It didn't help that as the only girl and the youngest child she was her mother's favorite target. If it came down to it, she would tell Hermione straight away. If Hermione had a _boy_ in her head, _she _would want to know about it, if only for privacy's sake. All though, come to think of it Hermione did know Harry pretty well, she might not mind… NO, just No. She was not going to go there.

Ginny finished her ablutions and headed to bed silently.

Really, it was a choice to define personalities and label thoughts. Like a strange psychology experiment, both minds were really interacting as one. Both passed along the same sets of neurons, even overlapping over common thought points like muscle control and reflex. It was truly remarkable. To an expert in neurology, meeting Harry and Ginny would have quickly confirmed just how vast the capacity of the human brain truly is. Ginny's completely standard brain was easily capable of supporting two separate, reasoning, individuals. They would have rushed to their MRI's and prepared their CAT scans. Of course if the muggles had found Harry and Ginny, the neurologists would be the last to get their hands on them.

It was a restless night for both of them. Ginny was hard pressed to fall asleep with Harry's presence in her mind. It was like trying to rest or close your eyes with a person staring directly at you: disconcerting. All though neither was openly addressing the other, their thoughts were bouncing back and forth like a Ping-Pong match. The random thoughts that manage to creep into a sleeping mind were amplified between the two of them. They were both aware of what idea was flirting on the edge of the other's consciousness and, no matter how hard they tried, could not suppress the urge to briefly think of the same thing. For example, when Ginny wondered what kind of owl had just hooted, Harry couldn't help but wonder if it was Hedwig. Ginny than found herself thinking of Hedwig too.

Sleep came eventually, but only after their mind grew so weary that it fluttered into unconsciousness. While it took them hours to fall asleep, Dumbledore didn't even sleep at all. He passed the night at his desk, scratching runes with a quill and trying to think of a way forward. He had books filled with information about dark rituals, and some about their light counterparts; he had the complete Hogwarts's library; he had the knowledge of an old man, something that could not easily be gained even through great wealth and power, and yet he still did not have an answer to life's persistent problems, and most importantly, Harry Potter's.

!#$%^&*(()(*&^%

Another night wasted. Dumbledore rubbed his eyes and prepared to feed Fawkes his breakfast. What was the point of missing sleep if you didn't even find any answers to make up for it? What was he supposed to do? He couldn't bear to tell the boy that nothing he had found yet was going to work.

His desk was a mess. With his old age, Dumbledore thought he had mastered the discipline required to keep a clean desk. Unfortunately last night he had failed to do so. He had the ministry "teacher" coming to visit today and it would not do to give her any ammunition. He flicked his wand at each of the books one at a time, sending them toward their appropriate bookshelf with a deft banishing spell. Such finesse took years of experience to be able to pull off. He had been quite pleased with himself when he had managed it for the first time at 27. Like many things in magic, it could not be taught directly. Instead, one had to live it. He sighed and glanced around. So easy it was to get distracted… He still had quite a mess on his desk. Mentally banishing his wand back into its typical position in his sleeve, he made to sort through his loose paperwork. That was one thing he had not yet been able to create a charm for. Sorting paperwork was hard to do with a simple wave off a wand. He had created a magical way, but like many things it proved harder to execute than the simple classic method. Sorting papers by hand would have to do.

By six thirty his desk was clear and his eyes were twinkling. He had passed many sleepless nights in his life. He had likely had passed more sleepless than many of his students had lived through. It was never easy to put on a smile and to un-sag ones eye-lids. One of the benefits of an old wrinkled face was it kept his sleep deprivation hidden away between the creases of his skin. Not that he minded such things. There had been a time in his youth when he had wanted nothing more than some grey in his hair, and a long full beard in order to get the respect he felt he deserved. Now, looking back, he realized that he had won that respect not for his grandfather like appearance, but for the years he had spent as a younger man actually doing worthy things. It seemed ironic, that now more than ever, he was scorned and without respect. Who would have guessed that?

It was just as he set down his quill, the final touch in cleaning his desk, that his door came crashing open.

"Severus?" he called, looking up calmly as he straightened his face and posture in an attempt to mask his surprise.

"I have found it!" Snape breathed his face showing the same weariness that Dumbledore felt. While his eyelids drooped, his eyes were kindled with the fire of success.

"Found what my boy?" Dumbledore responded, reigning in his curiosity so as not to reach out with legilimency. Had Severus discovered a solution, perhaps with an obscure age-old tincture or… _solution_? He chuckled mentally at the double meaning of the word.

"Perhaps I appeared overzealous in my enthusiasm." Said Snape, having seen Dumbledore's eyes light up. "My discovery does little to alleviate the soberness of the situation."

"Please don't leave an old man waiting," replied Dumbledore, not unkindly.

"Albus, I have thought more about Harry Potter's situation."

"Ah so you do care Severus."

"The spawn of Potter," he replied incredulously. "You think that I care about the spoiled, ill-begotten boy that has been plaguing my existence for the last four years?"

"Why else would a young man such as you spend their evening reading away at musty tomes that far outdate even old men such as myself?" Dumbledore said, smiling.

"I won't give you the satisfaction," muttered Snape. "What I was saying was that I had a revelation last night. Potter's body was not completely destroyed. "

Dumbledore's eyes widened and shock ran across his face. How could he have forgotten?

"Harry Potter's blood still runs in the Dark Lords veins."

Dumbledore drew in a breath at Snape's words. It was true. It did little to help them, but it was a start.

"Albus, just how familiar are you with the potion Voldemort made to restore his body?"

"I am aware of its purpose and ingredients if that is what you mean. It is used to recreate a person's body." Said Dumbledore, curious to see were Snape was headed.

"But that's just it. It _doesn't _recreate a person's body. I believe muggles have something called the law of conservation; potioneers have the law of ingredient based results. A potion can only be what it is made out of, nothing else. The result of a potion cannot include something that was not with in the combined properties of the original ingredients, even my first year students could tell you that… at least the Slytherins."

"I am sorry to say I don't understand how this could help Harry." Said Dumbledore, furrowing his eyebrows in thought. He never liked not understanding something.

"You never were a Potions Master Albus," he said rolling his eyes. " Voldemort's new body, is not really his body. The blood that runs in his veins is not his own blood, it is Harry Potter's. The potion could not recreate Voldemort's blood. _His_ blood was destroyed with the body that once housed it. That is why it had to be added. Voldemort's new body was constructed from the ingredients of the potion, blood, Wormtail's hand, his father's bones, and the baby he was possessing when he was dropped into the cauldron."

"I feel so sorry for that poor soul," muttered Dumbledore quietly, thinking of the baby… Possessed and forced to drink unicorn blood…. Mutilated under darks spells of Voldemort' s creation-

Snape slammed his fist on the desk.

"Now is not the time to lament the death of a long dead baby. If we want to save Potter, we are going to have to draw the Dark Lord into the open before the spring equinox, and you are going to have to draw his blood in battle. Only then can we create the ritual to return Harry to his true body. Anything else, and he would be just like Voldemort, living a half-life."

"The boy must not be told." Dumbledore said solemnly. "He would not approve of us putting ourselves in Voldemort's path to save him."

"He will have plenty of work to keep him busy. I will make sure of it," his eyes glinting with the words.

"Don't torture the poor child, he has had a hard enough life as it is."

!#$%^&*()(*&^%$#!

Ginny rubbed her eyes groggily. It seemed only minutes ago that she had fallen asleep. God, she felt tired.

"_Tell me about it." _Harry thought.

"_I don't exactly have to, you heard me the first time."_

"_True."_

If it weren't for the chance to go home after breakfast, Ginny would defiantly not be up yet. It normally took a loud knock from her mother to wake her up before nine during the summer. She pulled on some robes- her mother always wanted her to wear robes. If it was up to her, she wouldn't were them during the summer. She didn't appreciate the extra layer when it was already 25 degrees (Celsius) outside.

They both were anxious to get out of the empty castle and so it was without hesitation that Ginny grabbed her bag and headed out of the portrait hole. Dumbledore had said that they needed to finish breakfast by 7:45.

One of the other advantages of two minds was that it made multi-tasking easy. It was not just possible to do two things at once effectively, it was almost natural. Harry and Ginny thus found themselves focusing on very different things as Ginny ate breakfast. Harry was pondering the methods of wizarding travel that could be used to get to Grimmauld place as he wrote a note to the Dursleys while Ginny was controlling the intake of food expected at the breakfast table. It would have been quite disconcerting to see, and indeed Professor Trelawney commented on it once or twice. She seemed to think that a powerful oracle's spirit had taken control of Ginny, and that Harry's note was actually instructions from the "inner eye" or more aptly "hand" in this case. Indeed, Professor McGonagall had been forced to restrain herself from rolling her eyes when the "inner hand" was mentioned.

In reality, the note Harry was writing was one of several designed to create his cover story. Ginny had graciously allowed Harry to write the letter himself so as to accurately portray his hand-writing and language. It was convenient that they both used opposite hands to write as they were now effectively ambidextrous.

Officially, Harry had dropped out of Hogwarts to attend a school in Australia. The cited reason was the "stress of the tri-wizard tournament" which was far closer to the truth than many would have guessed. He was currently elaborating to the Durselys how he felt a need to get away from England for a while. Also receiving brief notes, were his former roommates. The notes were simple and polite goodbyes and revealed no destination. His final, and most important, note was to Professor Dumbledore explaining why he felt that he needed to leave Hogwarts. He listed the Dursleys as his legal guardians in the letter and wrote that they should be contacted if anyone needed to reach him. He would love to see the expression on Uncle Vernon's face when he saw Cornelius Fudge- not to mention Fudges lime green bowler. Apparently Ginny was equally amused as she almost snorted pumpkin juice out of her nose.

"_Couldn't you chose a better time to think of something funny? Your acting like Fred and George."_ She admonished.

"_I will take that as a complement."_

"_Of course you would." _She thought resignedly.

They had found the same things amusing since their condition began. They always could tell exactly why the other person found something funny and with that kind of explanation, they found it hard not laugh themselves. It was in a similar way that they started to become familiar with each other's memories. When something caught one person's attention and elicited a mnemonic response, the other was immediately aware of the memory that had provoked the thought. This had led to a few more embarrassing moments: the prank Fred and George had played on Ginny when she was four that had left her permanently disliking rubber ducks being one of them…

Harry finished the last letter just in time for Snape to pick them up as he swooped by.

"They will be mailed."

"_Wow, that might be the first time he has managed to say a sentence to me that did not contain some sort of insult or jibe."_

"_I think it was because he was trying to pretend you weren't there." Said Ginny wisely. _

"_That would explain it, he has been trying to get rid of me for years."_

The bell tower chimed loudly, interrupting them as it announced a quarter left on the hour. As the last bell sounded, Albus Dumbledore seemed to appear next to them.

"Are you ready?" he said, looking down on them.

"Yes, sir, we just finished writing Harry's letter."

"Good, we will be flying so allow me to shrink you bag."

Mentally Ginny said _"Good you can teach me how to do a Wronski Feint."_ But out loud she asked "Why will we be flying, Sir?"

"A good question, to put it simply, I am not sure if both of you would rematerialize if we apparated or took the floo. I think in this case it would be better for us to be safe than sorry."

With their question answered, the three headed outside toward the Hogwarts grounds.

**As always please let me know what you thought. I have invested a lot of words and time into alliterating how Harry and Ginny's thoughts interact. Let me know if you think it was effective, too much or too little. I would also love to know which chapter you think is my best so far. **

**Thanks,**

**I am NOT Lord Voldemort, or you DON'T know who**


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